Cal State San Bernardino advances to regional final

Chris Mitchell finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Robby Robinson added 23 points and eight rebounds and four blocks to lead the Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team to a 75-73 win over Chico State on Saturday night in a secondround game of the 2024 NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament at Cal State L.A.’S University Gym.

The No. 2-seeded Coyotes (25-7) will take on No. 8Azusa Pacific (16-16) in the West Regional final today at 7 p.m. Azusa Pacific knocked off top-seeded Cal Sate L.A. (60-59) and No. 5-seeded Central Washington (82-74) during the first two rounds. Today’s winner advances to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ill.

Cal State San Bernardino is the region’s defending champion and has won the West Regional championship four times.

The Coyotes scored the first seven points and led 21-12 with 10:49 remaining in the first half. Chico State, the No. 6 seed for the West Regional, answered with a 16-7 run and leveled the score at 28 with 1:28 left to halftime. Cal State San Bernardino did not trail in the first half, and Evan Guillory sank four throws at the end of the half to give the Coyotes a 32-30 lead at the break

Chico State (21-9) scored the first six points of the second half to take its first lead of the game. The teams traded the lead multiple times over the next 15 minutes, and the score was tied at 64 with 3:48 left on the clock.

Mitchell knocked down two free throws, and Robinson sank a jumper to give Cal State San Bernardino a 68-64 lead with 3 minutes left in the game. The Coyotes heled a 7570 advantage after a free throw by Guillory with 50 seconds remaining.

Chico State tried to mount one final comeback. Kelvin Wright Jr. drained a free throw, and Joshua Hamilton made two more shots at the line to get the Wildcats within 75-73 with 42 seconds on the clock. Wright blocked a shot by Mitchell with 15 seconds left, and the Coyotes turned the ball over with 13 seconds still on the clock.

Cal State San Bernardino held on for the victory, however, as Hamilton missed a potential winning 3-pointer as time expired.

Hamilton finished with a game-high 28 points to lead the way for Chico State. Evan Oliver (Riverside Poly) had 12 points, while Wright (Rancho Cucamonga) and Jojo Murphy each scored 11 points for the Wildcats.

Guillory scored 15 points for Cal State San Bernardino, while Leandrew Knight had 11 rebounds for the Yotes.

Cal State San Bernardino and Azusa Pacific are separated by 38 miles, but Monday night’s regional championship game will mark the first meeting between the programs since the 2015-16 season. Azusa Pacific has won two straight games in the series and holds an 8-2 edge dating back to the 1985-86 campaign.