Box Score Following the Chico State men’s basketball team’s 68-44 win against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Friday night, Wildcats center Nate Appel’s sister, Jayne, tweeted that she was glad she could listen to the game from China where she plays professionally. Too bad she didn’t just look out her window. She might have caught a glimpse of James Staniland or Damario Sims letting go of a 3-pointer.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME
The pair showed remarkable range in railing four 3s apiece as the 16th-ranked Wildcats knocked down a dozen on opening night of the 53rd annual Carl’s Jr. Mac Martin Invitational to improve to 2-0.
Chico State also dominated on the glass, outrebounding the winless (0-3) Mountain Lions 39-23. Jordan Semple snagged 10 off the bench and Amir Carraway nabbed nine. The Wildcats have now held four straight opponents below 50 points in Acker Gym, where they’ve won their last 14 against non-conference opponents.
That streak will be on the line again Saturday night when they take on 7th-ranked Seattle Pacific at 7:30 in the tournament finale. That matchup lost a tad of its luster, however, when San Francisco State upset the Falcons 60-55 in Friday’s opening game. More on that below...
Sims and Carraway contributed two 3s apiece as the Wildcats made six of their first seven to take an 18-12 lead they would never relinquish. Sims scored a game-high 16 points in just 18 minutes while Carraway finished with 15.
The Wildcats’ reserves were outstanding as well, outscoring the UC-Colorado Springs bench 31-9. Staniland led that charge by burying 4-of-5 from beyond the arc on the way to 12 points, while his fellow reserve, Appel, added seven.
A 12-0 run capped by a Semple 3-pointer gave Chico State a 30-17 edge with 5:28 left in the first half. A Staniland trey later gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the opening stanza, 39-23.
UC-Colorado Springs stayed within striking distance early on in the second half and Darius Pardner’s driving bucket with 9:54 left pulled the Mountain Lions to within 50-39. But Staniland dropped consecutive deep 3s during the next minute, signaling the beginning of the end.
San Francisco State 60, No. 7 Seattle Pacific 55
BOX SCORE
San Francisco State got the Mac Martin Tournament going with a good old-fashioned upset, holding No. 7 Seattle Pacific to just 38-percent shooting and forcing 18 turnovers as the Gators notched their first win of the season, beating the Falcons 60-55 in Friday’s early game.
James Albright scored a season-high 14 points, and Robbie Herndon and Decensae Wright added 13 apiece to pace San Francisco State (1-2).
Jobi Wall drained six 3-pointers to score a game-high 20 points for Seattle Pacific (4-1), which advanced to the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Championship Tournament and is the favorite to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season according to the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll.
A Ryan Todd trey with 22 seconds left brought the Falcons to within 58-55, but William Overton, Jr. hit a pair of clutch free throws with 13 ticks remaining to ice the contest for the victorious Gators.
San Francisco State kicks off the final day of the Mac Martin Tournament Saturday afternoon, taking on UC-Colorado Springs at 5:30.
