LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball suffered a hard-fought 93-90 decision to Chico State Thursday night that literally came down to a final bounce in the waning seconds.

It was in the eye of the beholder how to view the bounce that came with Chico State leading Cal State LA 91-90 and time running out. It was a great bounce for the Wildcats because after Cal State LA's Jaden Lazo was able to strip the ball on a shot attempt by Jojo Murphy, the ball bounced right back to Murphy, who deftly fired a second shot up right before the shot clock went off with five seconds remaining to secure a 93-90 California Collegiate Athletic Association victory. It was a disheartening bounce for the Golden Eagles (11-14, 9-10 CCAA), who slipped into a sixth-place tie with Cal State East Bay with three games remaining in the conference schedule.

The top six teams will qualify for the CCAA Tournament, which was won by Cal State LA last season for the first time in program history.

Chico State (20-5, 16-3 CCAA) remain in second place and is one of only two teams that have clinched spots in the conference tournament.

The Golden Eagles and Wildcats were locked in an entertaining back-and-forth on Thursday featuring two explosive offenses.

Shane Bell had 25 points to lead three Golden Eagles in double figures, while Corey Cofield II had 23 points and eight rebounds. Dominic Escobar had 19 points, four assists and two rebounds.

Trae Taylor had 26 points and seven rebounds for Chico State, while Murphy had 22 points and seven rebounds. Five Wildcats reached double figures in scoring.

Lazo had nine points for the Golden Eagles, while Kyjuan Cannady had eight points and eight rebounds.

Cal State LA shot 52.5 percent for the game (32-of-61) and was 5-of-17 from 3-point range, while Chico State shot 54 percent (34-of-63) and was 8-of-25 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were 21-of-27 from the free-throw line, while the Wildcats were 17-of-19.

Chico State had a 36-27 rebounding edge, while the Golden Eagles committed only seven turnovers while forcing 12.

The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but closed to within 46-43 by halftime.

The Golden Eagles then surged to a 61-55 lead after a 3-pointer by Cofield II, but the Wildcats responded with a 15-2 run to take a 70-63 lead with 11 minutes remaining. 

Cal State LA came back to take a 78-76 lead after a layup by Cannady and two free throws by Escobar, but the Wildcats got a layup by Murphy and four straight free throws by Taylor to regain the lead at 82-78 and the Wildcats were able to keep the lead the rest of the way. A layup by Bell made it 87-85 with 2:30 to go and a free throw by Cofield II made it 87-86 wth 2:16 left. Cofield II converted on a tip-in to make it 89-88 before a pair of free throws by Taylor made it 91-88. 

Cannady's layup made it 91-90 with 35 seconds to go and Murphy then was able to drain most of the shot clock down before the two shots that decided it. The first was blocked by Lazo and the second was all net and the game was essentially over.

Cal State LA will return to action with an important home game against Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday at 3 p.m. on Senior Day.