Chico State men win 8th game in a row
Duffy scores 25 points to lead Chico State
CHICO >> After defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. earlier this month on the road, Chico State’s Malik Duffy called both teams “sleepers” that, despite their underdog status, were capable of pulling off an upset.
The Toros (9-10, 5-8 California Collegiate Athletic Association) were certainly the underdog against the No. 19-ranked Wildcats Thursday at Acker Gym, but the visitors hardly looked the part.
After Chico State built a 12-point lead early in the second half, Dominguez Hills climbed all the way back and went up six points with under six minutes left to play.
The seasoned Wildcats didn’t flinch.
Duffy dropped five 3-pointers en route to a game-high 25 points, Kevin Warren added 19 points, including the go-ahead 3 with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left, and the Wildcats won their eighth game in a row with an 85-76 triumph over the Toros.
“We’ve been in a handful of these games down the stretch,
and we’ve actually responded really well,” Chico State head coach Greg Clink said. “I think that our aggression level actually increased in the last four minutes of the game.”
The task was laid out for the Wildcats after Jordan Hilstock’s 3-ball gave Dominguez Hills a 69-63 edge — their largest lead of the half — with 5:46 to play.
Duffy and Isaiah Brooks each countered with a 3 to force a 69-all tie. Then, the real back-and-forth came.
Dominguez Hills senior Andrew Whitsett, a former Hamilton High and Butte College standout, scored in the paint, and Wonder Smith added a jumper to put the Toros back up 7370. Whitsett finished with nine points and six boards, but was limited to 23 minutes as the center battled foul trouble for most of the game.
On Chico State’s next trip up the floor, Duffy passed up a 3 from the top of the circle, dribbled inside and flipped to Warren, who scored on a layup as he was fouled and completed the 3-point play.
Geraci then forced a steal, which led to a Duffy 3-pointer that was clanked off. But Geraci grabbed the offensive rebound, then eventually passed off to Warren for a 3-pointer in front of the Chico State bench, giving the Wildcats a 76-73 lead that they didn’t give up.
“We’re all so selfless,” Duffy said. “They tell me to take all my open shots, but I see Kevin, he gets an and-one. Then Calvin gets an offensive board, that was huge for us, then kicks to Kevin (for) an open 3. Everyone just made big plays when we needed them.”
With juniors Duffy, Brooks, Warren, Geraci and the senior Justin Briggs, who tallied seven points, nine boards and three steals, the Wildcats’ starting five is growing with experience by the day.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that a lot of the guys playing at the end are seasoned,” Clink said. “We’ve got four juniors and a senior that are finishing these games for us, and they’re doing a really good job and they’ve been through it. They know how to win.”
During the win streak, the Wildcats (14-3, 9-2 CCAA) have won blowouts, they’ve come from behind to win and they’ve won close games, including those aforementioned road games, and now, another single-digit win over the Toros.
“We just have a way different mindset from last year,” Duffy said. “We come in every game, we talk to each other and (say), ‘another day, another opportunity.’ We don’t want to go 1-1 a weekend. If we want to be where we want to be, which is CCAA champions, national champions, we got to go 2-0 every weekend, play our ass off every weekend and get the job done.”
Smith finished with a team-high 20 points for the Toros, despite going scoreless in the first half. Kaden Bradley, a Chico High alumnus, added five points and seven boards in 18 minutes off the bench.