Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.’s men’s basketball team will not enter the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship tournament with momentum.
The Golden Eagles struggled down the stretch and lost a disappointing 68-62 decision to Chico State Friday in the Eagles Nest to conclude the regular season. Cal State L.A. (14-13, 10-12 CCAA) slipped into a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference and drew the No. 8 seed. Cal State L.A. will face No. 1 seed Cal Poly Pomona on Tuesday in Pomona.
Roderick Hawkins had a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds to lead Chico State (15-12, 11-11 CCAA), which completed a season sweep of the Golden Eagles. Jon Baird had 16 points.
Cal State L.A. shot 50 percent from the field, while Chico State made 42.6 percent of its shots. The two teams had 28 rebounds each, while Cal State L.A. had 16 turnovers to 10 for the Wildcats. Chico State had a big edge at the free-throw line, where the Wildcats were 23-of-27 and the Golden Eagles were just 7-of-11.
The Golden Eagles started well and took a 22-18 lead with five minutes remaining in the half on a basket by Hoffman. The Wildcats surged to a four-point lead late in the half, saw the Golden Eagles battle back to tie and then took a 33-30 halftime lead on a 3-pointer right before the buzzer by Jake Lovisolo.
Chico State led for most of the second half and took its biggest lead, 45-38, after a basket by Hawkins with 12:40 remaining. The Golden Eagles got back into the contest when
Dwayne Jones scored 11 straight Cal State L.A. points to put his team ahead, 48-47, with eight minutes remaining.
The Golden Eagles took their last lead at 53-51 after a basket by Hoffman with 6:30 to go, but Chico State scored the next six points to take the lead for good. A jumper by Jones cut the deficit to two, 59-57, but a 3-pointer by Jay Flores with the shot clock winding down boosted the Chico State lead back to five points in the final minute.
Cal State L.A. will be facing Cal Poly Pomona for the third time this season. The Golden Eagles beat the Broncos, 54-53, in Pomona on Jan. 16 and the Broncos won in the rematch, 68-54, last week in the Eagles Nest.