TURLOCK, Calif. – In a rematch of last year’s CCAA Tournament semifinal, the second-seeded Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (19-9) earned a 104-96 win over sixth-seeded Chico State (13-16) on Friday to move on to the tournament’s championship game for the second consecutive season.
Prior to the game, Lyle Sutton was awarded this year’s CCAA Elite 13 Award. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the final CCAA championship site in each conference-sponsored sport.
Lyle Sutton CCAA Elite 13 Award
TOP PERFORMERS
Quinn Denker – 31 points | 11-of-15 FG | 5 rebounds | 3 steals
Greg Milton III – 26 points | 9-of-13 FG | 3 rebounds | 3 assists
Joel Mensah – 13 points | 7 rebounds
Jayce McCain – 12 points | 5 assists | 4 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
Up 12-10 to begin the game, CSUSM made it a seven-point game on a Denker layup, free throw and jumper to go up 17-10 with 15:24 to go in the first half.
With a 21-17 lead, the Cougars went on a 7-0 run with a Milton layup, a pull-up jumper by Denker and a 3-pointer from Denker off a blocked shot from Mensah to put the Cougars up 28-17 with 9:10 to go.
With CSUSM up 33-23, Chico cut the lead to four at 35-31 on an 8-2 run with 4:51 left in the half.
After 20 minutes, the Cougars went to the locker room with a 45-39 lead over the Wildcats.
CSUSM ended the first half shooting 60.6 (20-of-33) while Chico came in at 56.7% (17-of-30).
Denker led all scorers with 15 points at the break.
The Cougars stormed out to a 54-41 lead to begin the second half with a 9-2 run that forced a Wildcat timeout with 17:15 to go. All nine points came off 3-pointers by McCain, Milton and Denker.
CSUSM took its largest lead of the game at 65-49 after McCain was fouled on a good layup and converted the free throw to put the Cougars up by 16 with 12:54 to play.
With CSUSM ahead 87-77 with 5:27 to go, Chico made it a one-point game with a 12-3 run that closed the gap to 90-89 with 3:46 remaining.
The Wildcats were unable to tie or take the lead in the final three minutes of play as the Cougars went on to earn the eight-point victory.
FAST BREAKS
CSUSM’s 104 points broke the CCAA Tournament record for points scored in a game. Cal Poly Pomona previously put up 102 against Cal State LA at the 2019 tournament, and Cal State San Bernardino hung 102 against UC San Diego in 2013.
CSUSM never let Chico have the lead or tie the score and was ahead for all but 17 seconds.
The Cougars ended the game shooting 63.8% (37-of-58) while going 47.8% (11-of-23) from beyond the arc. The Wildcats shot 54.8% (34-of-62) and were 39.3% (11-of-28) from downtown.
CSUSM’s point total tied for the fifth most in program history and were the most since the Cougars’ 105-point performance against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Feb. 15, 2020.
The Cougars’ 37 field goals tied for the sixth most in program history.
CSUSM’s 63.8% performance from the field tied for the third best in team history and was the second best of the season.
The Cougars won the rebound battle at 29-25.
CSUSM tallied eight more assists than Chico at 17-9.
Denker’s 31 points were a season high and the second most by a Cougar this season. They were also the sixth-most points ever scored in a CCAA Tournament game.
This was Milton’s ninth game with 20 or more points. He’s been in double figures for all but three games this season.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will look to defend its CCAA Tournament Championship crown as it faces the semifinal winner of top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino and fifth-seeded Sonoma State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
