ARCATA – The Chico State men’s basketball team has climbed from the deepest valley of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) to its upper echelon in just two seasons under Head Coach Greg Clink. The Wildcats’ quest to reach the conference’s highest peak will have to wait for one more season after their remarkable comeback came up just short as the reigning king of the conference mountain, Cal Poly Pomona, defeated the Wildcats 80-77 in the CCAA Championship Tournament semifinals Friday night at Humboldt State’s Lumberjack Arena.
For a few amazing moments, it looked as though the Wildcats might keep their season alive. A team that had already overcome deficits of 11-or-more in the second half on three separate occasions this season – including a 14-point deficit against Cal Poly Pomona in the final 3:44 in Acker Gym – the Wildcats cut a 17-point Cal Poly Pomona lead with 4:52 remaining to three with 1:07 remaining as Jay Flores and Damario Sims capped a 20-6 run with back-to-back threes.
Following a Broncos miss, Roderick Hawkins missed a pair of potential game-tying 3-pointers. But after Austin Swift went to the line and made 1-of-2, Jay Flores went coast-to-coast for a layup to keep hope alive. Dwayne Fells made 1-of-2 free throws with two seconds left and Flores’ 60-foot desperation heave bounced off the glass and front rim before falling to the floor, ending the Wildcats’ season.
Junior Roderick Hawkins led the Wildcats with 19 points.
Roderick Hawkins, one of the catalysts in this season’s turnaround and inarguably the team’s most improved player in 2009-10, led Chico State with 19 points. Flores, the team’s spirited sophomore point guard, finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Freshman Damario Sims chipped in 14 points, and Jon Baird, one of the most celebrated shooters in Chico State history, scored 13 in the final game of his career before fouling out with 3:52 left. Terence Pellum was the fifth Wildcat in double-figures with 12 points.
Chico State finished the season 16-13 two years after coming in dead last in the CCAA at 3-17 and 7-20 overall. Last year, Chico State showed improvement, finishing 8-19 overall and 5-15 in the CCAA. But this year the Wildcats made the big jump. They got signature wins against nationally-ranked Pomona in the regular season and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament Tuesday night – Chico State’s first postseason win in 15 seasons.
“I’ve never been more proud of a group of guys I’ve coached in my career,” said Clink. “The character and resiliency that they’ve shown all year has been amazing. This is a year I think I’ll always look back on as very special.”
Special seasons are the norm for Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos, co-champions of the CCAA and the national runner-up last season, have now won 15 games in a row. It was easy to see why Friday. They nailed two-thirds of their shots against the Wildcats, including 75-percent in the first half as they got out to a 34-18 lead.
Chico State combated the red-hot Broncos shooters by forcing six turnovers in the final six minutes of the second half to trim the lead to 40-31. Baird had two steals and Pellum another during the modest 13-7 run to end the half.
Baird, who finishes his career as Chico State's all-time leader in free throw percentage at 85 percent, cut the lead to eight early in the second stanza when he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all three charity shots. Buckets by Pellum and Hawkins made it a seven-point game with 13 minutes left, but then the Broncos took control of the game.
Dwayne Fells, who led all scorers with 19 points, converted a three-point play to spark an 8-0 run over the
Jay Flores finished with 15 points, five boards, and five dimes.
next two minutes that gave the Broncos a 57-42 advantage. The lead grew as large as 17 on two different occasions, the second time, at 72-55 with 4:52 to play.
A season that had already defied expectations could have been enough to make the Wildcats concede defeat. But Flores wouldn't let them. He scored on a drive in the lane, assisted on a Hawkins layup, and then buried a 3-pointer, all in the span of 34 seconds to trim the lead to 72-62.
Cal Poly Pomona kept the Wildcats at bay over the next two-and-a-half minutes as the teams traded buckets and the lead hovered between eight and 12.
Then Flores struck again. His 3-pointer with 1:47 left made it 78-72, and following a Broncos turnover, Flores found Sims for a long 3-pointer, and suddenly... unbelievably, it was a 78-75 game with 1:07 to play. The Wildcats then had three potential game-tying shots over the final 14 seconds, but none of them dropped.
Along with Baird, the loss marked the end of the Chico State basketball experience for Nick Lonnegren, Brian Seals, and Darren Nye.
However, starters Hawkins, Flores, Pellum and Zach Graves have eligibility remaining. Chris Sharp, a projected starter on this year's squad who missed the season with a foot injury, should also be on the roster, along with another former starter who redshirted this season, Josh Jackson. And then there's the six freshmen who made such an important contribution to this year's club, specifically Sims and 7-foot center Jason Conrad.
The peak may just be within reach.
"I'm really excited about the future of this program," said Clink. "We have a lot of work to do, but I feel like we have a lot of the pieces in place to do some special things."
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