The Chico State Wildcats were victorious in Monday night’s home opener over the Hawai’i Pacific Sharks by a score of 85-83. Vigorous performances from the former California Collegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year, Jojo Murphy, and sophomore forward Caden Harris were key factors in the Wildcats’ win.
Coming off two straight losses, the Wildcats needed to get back on track, especially being back at the Acker Gymnasium in front of their home crowd.
Murphy was the leading scorer, finishing with 25 points, five assists and five rebounds. His counterpart, Harris, came out the gates scorching hot, connecting on his first six shots of the game, scoring 13 of the Wildcats’ first 27 points. Harris finished with 21 points in only 25 minutes after exiting the game early in the second half due to cramping.
“Caden was huge, for him to bounce back the way he did from his last two games just testifies to his character,” Murphy said. “He’s a star player, and I think everybody is going to see for themselves how good he is.”
Straight from the tip-off, the Wildcats’ defensive pressure overwhelmed the Sharks, forcing a shot clock violation on the first possession of the game. The aggressiveness mixed with discipline helped them get out to an early 20-3 lead. However, the Sharks came swimming back after eventually finding their stroke, pouring on eight three-pointers and entering the half with a three-point lead.
The Chico State defense proved to be a problem all game for the Sharks as they managed to force 15 turnovers from the Sharks. Capitalizing off the mistakes, the Wildcats totaled 28 points off turnovers, doubling the Sharks’ numbers.
“I feel like we came out with good aggression defensively, but then we kind of deferred away from that by taking quick shots,” Murphy said. “Going out in the second half, we made a huge emphasis on our defensive presence, forcing baseline, having deep hole help, and not allowing over-the-top penetration.”
The Wildcat juniors, forward Trae Taylor and guard Miles Daniels, stepped up after Harris went down, making some big shots in the second half. Taylor had his best game of the year, scoring 11 points without missing a shot, and Daniels hit three big shots down the stretch, coming up clutch when the Wildcats needed it most.
With a minute left, the Wildcats had a one-possession lead with the ball in Murphy’s hands. With the shot clock running down, Murphy called for the isolation and got to his spot, sinking a step-back three from the left wing and making it a two-possession game. His three had the Acker Gym rocking.
“We lost the last two games, so just protecting home court and getting back in the win column meant a lot to us,” Murphy said.
In a last-ditch effort, the Sharks were able to tack on one more basket, but it wasn’t enough. The Wildcats showed their resiliency and held on after a back-and-forth game.
Chico State is back on the Acker Gymnasium court Friday at 6 p.m., where they take on the Dominican University Penguins. Home games are free to attend for students who present their student IDs or Canvas home page.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Lukas Mann can be reached at [email protected].
