SAN MARCOS—The final score of Thursday night's Chico State-Cal State San Marcos men's basketball game is one of those frequently misleading ones. The Cougars claimed a 61-51victory, but for 34 hard-fought minutes, the contest was a closely played, back-and-forth affair. It was only in the late stages that San Marcos pulled away, outscoring the Wildcats 17-5 down the stretch to post the double-digit win at The Sports Complex in San Marcos.
 
Chico State dropped its second straight game to slip to 10-12 on the season and into a tie with San Francisco State for fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), with both teams sporting an 8-9 conference record. Cal State San Marcos moved to 14-8 overall and 13-4 in CCAA play.
 
Miles Daniels notched his first career double-double as a Wildcat Thursday, scoring a team-high 15 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Jojo Murphy added 11 points, with Joshua Hamilton contributing seven points and 10 rebounds. The conference-best Cal State San Marcos defense held Chico State to 33 percent shooting on the night, and just 22.7 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
 
The game didn't have the look of a defensive battle, at least in the opening minutes. Cal State San Marcos fired out of the gate and grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but then was held scoreless by the Chico State "D" for the next seven-and-a-half minutes. The Wildcats took full advantage, using an 11-0 run—Hamilton drained a pair of free throws; Murphy, Kelvin Wright Jr., and Brennan Wheeler dropped in layups, and Trae Taylor converted a three-point play—to jump on top. The Cougars briefly regained the lead, but another three-point play by Taylor helped the 'Cats go ahead 14-12. A 9-2 run gave San Marcos a 21-16 lead, and though Daniels drained a 3-pointer and Evan Oliver posted a pair of layups, the Cougars went into the locker room with a 25-23 halftime lead.
 
Murphy opened the scoring in the second half, with his 3-pointer putting Chico State on top 26-25. The Wildcats maintained the advantage over the next 12 minutes with Daniels leading the charge—the freshman knocked down a 3-pointer, two free throws, and a pair of field goals to give the 'Cats a 46-44 lead with 6:12 remaining in the contest. Chico State then went ice cold at just the wrong time, and for the next five-and-a-half minutes the Wildcats could not score a point. As a result, San Marcos took full control, putting up 11 answered points to go up 55-46 with less than a minute to play.
 
Murphy finally ended the drought with a jumper and Daniels later nailed a 3-ball, but with time running out the Wildcats were forced to foul. San Marcos put the game away by converting six free throws in the final seconds to come through with the 61-51 victory.
 
Chico State continues its Southern California road trip Saturday afternoon, taking on the Golden Eagles of Cal State LA (10-13, 7-10 CCAA). Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.