Box Score
CHICO -- Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team once again put itself in position to earn a tough California Collegiate Athletic Association weekend sweep, but, for the second straight week, the Golden Eagles were denied.
The Golden Eagles were unable to hold onto a 12-point second-half lead and fell to Chico State, 69-66, Saturday night in Acker Gym. Cal State L.A. (10-4, 6-4 CCAA) missed out on a chance to move into sole possession of second place in the CCAA with the loss. The Golden Eagles are in a logjam for third place, one-half game out of second.
Chris Robinson scored a career-high 25 points for the second night in a row, but was the only Golden Eagle to reach double figures in scoring.
Leland Jones had eight points, while
Bussey Ellis and
Quinton Watkins had seven points each.
Jay Flores scored 18 points to lead three Chico State players in double figures. Damario Sims had 15 points, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers late in the game, while Jason Conrad finished with 12 points.
Ryan Wetherell had a game-high seven assists to go along with six points for the Golden Eagles, while
Jordan Richard had five points and six rebounds.
Cal State L.A. led by as many as 11 points in the first half before settling for a 36-29 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles weathered a Chico State run early in the second half that sliced the lead to two points and built the advantage to 12 points three times. The Wildcats, though, used a 10-0 run to get back into the game and took its first lead in the final minute of play. Cal State L.A. had a chance to regain the lead with 20 seconds left, but missed a pair of free throws and Flores hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to keep the Golden Eagles at bay.
The Golden Eagles got a pair of potential game-tying 3-point attempts from Watkins and Jones, but both missed and Chico State (11-5, 6-4 CCAA) salvaged a split of its weekend games.
Cal State L.A. shot 48.1 percent from the floor (25-of-52), while Chico State made 48 percent (24-of-50). The Wildcats, though, stepped up their offense in the second half, making 13-of-20 attempts after the break. The Golden Eagles were 6-of-15 from 3-point range, while Chico State was 5-of-16. The Golden Eagles were 10-of-19 from the free-throw line, while the Wildcats were 16-of-24. Cal State L.A. owned a 34-29 rebounding edge and had 14 turnovers to 11 for the Wildcats.
The Golden Eagles jumped out quickly and led until the final minute. A basket by Wetherell gave the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game, 20-10, and his basket moments later gave the Golden Eagles a 22-11 edge. A basket by
Carl Hoffman gave the Golden Eagles a 36-26 lead, but the Wildcats closed to within 36-29 by halftime.
The Wildcats pulled to within one point early in the second half, but Robinson caught fire to extend the margin. His basket followed by a three-point play made it 43-37 and five straight points by Jones gave the Golden Eagles a 48-39 advantage.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Robinson gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the game, 54-42, with 10 minutes to go. The Golden Eagles matched that advantage at 56-44 after another basket by Robinson and at 57-45 after a free throw by Jones with seven minutes to go.
Chico State answered with a 10-0 run to cut the margin to 57-55 before Robinson hit another basket to make it 59-55. After a Chico State basket, Robinson hit a 3-pointer to make it 62-57 with 2:26 to go. Damario Sims, though, hit the first of his two clutch 3-pointers on Chico State's next possession to make it 62-60. Watkins scored in the lane to make it 64-60, but Chico State scored the next five points to take its first lead of the game. Sims hit a 3-pointer and Jordan Semple scored following a turnover to give the Wildcats a 65-64 advantage with 43 seconds left.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to regain the lead with 20 seconds left when Jones was fouled, but he missed both free throws and the Golden Eagles then had to foul. Flores made two free throws to extend the lead to 67-64 with 15 seconds left. Watkins scored quickly to make it 67-66, but Flores made two free throws to account for the final margin. Watkins and Jones then missed 3-point attempts to end it.
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Friday with a home game against San Francisco State.
