LOS ANGELES – Fifteen wins. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? The Chico State men’s basketball team won its 15th game of the season 68-62 at Cal State L.A. Friday night to claim sole possession of fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). As the No. 5 seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament, the Wildcats will visit four-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills Tuesday with a berth in the conference semifinals on the line.
Yes, you’re reading correctly. Fifteen wins… Fifth place in the CCAA… CCAA Championship Tournament… The Chico State men’s basketball program, which went from 7-20 overall and 3-17 in the CCAA two seasons ago to 8-19 overall and 5-15 in the CCAA last season – Greg Clink’s first as head coach – to 15-12 overall and 11-11 in the CCAA this year, is going places. And the Wildcats will be playing their first postseason basketball game since 2005 on Tuesday.
Roderick Hawkins helped make sure of all that. The junior forward dominated the game Friday, scoring a career-high 26 points, including 18 in the second half. He attacked, attacked, and attacked some more often getting to the line, where he made all 10 of his free throws, or converting inside. He made 8-of-14 shots.
“We just went to him time and time again,” Clink told Mike Baca on the ESPN Radio Postgame Show. “I told him at halftime that he needed to let me know when he was tired, because I wasn’t going to take him out.”
Jake Lovisolo took and made his first shot of the season at the buzzer to end the first half, giving the Wildcats a much-needed boost.
Hawkins actually didn’t score Chico State’s biggest bucket of the night, but all the work he had done to that point set it up. The Wildcats were clinging to a 59-57 lead with under a minute to play and everyone in the Eagles’ Nest knew Hawkins was going to get the ball. When he did, The Golden Eagles’ defense collapsed and he responded concisely with an inside-out pass to Damario Sims, who made the extra pass to Jay Flores for an open 3-pointer and the dagger.
Jon Baird made six straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to make sure the Golden Eagles didn’t find new life.
If Flores’ bucket wasn’t the biggest of the game, Jake Lovisolo’s was. Yes, you read that right too. Jake Lovisolo. The Chico State freshman who had not even attempted a shot through the first 26 games of the season buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half, sending a shock of badly needed emotion through the Wildcats locker room, giving them a 33-30 lead, and setting them up for a solid second half.
“I can’t tell you how big a momentum boost that was,” said Clink. “We were lacking some emotion in the first half. We were lacking a spark. They care about Jake so much. I mean this when I say it; Jake’s the best team guy I’ve ever been around. So when he made that, it gave the guys something extra for the second half.”
The Wildcats led for much of the second stanza, though Cal State L.A. standout Dwayne Jones scored 10 points in a row to give his team a 48-47 lead with eight minutes left. That lead changed hands four times over the next three minutes until Hawkins knocked down a game-tying jumper with five minutes left and the go-ahead jumper with 4:20 to go.
He made two free throws on Chico State’s next possession, and then after missing a 3-pointer, went strong to the hoop for a layup to give the Wildcats a 59-55 edge with 2:23 left.
Cal State LA. cut the led to a deuce, but Flores’ 3-pointer and Baird’s free throws were enough to keep the hosts at bay.
Baird was the only Chico State player to join Hawkins in double-figures with 16 points. Flores had eight and Damario Sims seven.
BOX SCORE
GAME NOTES – Hawkins’ two highest scoring collegiate games have come this season against Cal State L.A. He scored 21 against the Golden Eagles in the Wildcats’ 62-61 win at home on Jan. 22...His 26 points were the second most scored by a Wildcat this season. Jon Baird scored 30 on Feb. 12… With his second free throw, Hawkins became the first Wildcat in 15 years to make 100 free throws in a season. Jayson Vossler (1994-95) was the last to do it…The Wildcats improved to 8-2 when a player scores 20 or more…The Wildcats have now won three in a row against the Golden Eagles…The Wildcats made 23-of-27 free throws while Cal State L.A. made just 7-of-10, making Chico State 14-3 when attempting more charity shots than its opponent this season…The Wildcats finished the regular season 7-6 away from Acker Gym. It’s just their second winning record away from home since joining the CCAA in 1998-99…By making all eight of his free throws, Baird moved into first place on Chico State’s career free throw shooting list at .846 percent. Brian Faulstich (2002-04) is now second at .838.
2010 CCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament seeds
1. Cal Poly Pomona (18-4)
2. Humboldt State (18-4)
3. Cal State San Bernardino (17-5)
4. Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-6)
5. Chico State (11-11)
6. San Francisco State (10-12)
7. Sonoma State (10-12)
8. Cal State L.A. (10-12)
Pairings:
No. 8 Cal State L.A. at No. 1 Cal Poly Pomona
No. 7 Sonoma State at No. 2 Humboldt State
No. 6 San Francisco State at No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino
No. 5 Chico State at No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills