The Cal State Dominguez Hils Toros gave the undermanned Chico State Wildcats their first conference loss of the year Thursday night, 58-79. The Wildcats were missing four out of their five starters due to a combination of disciplinary issues and injury.
Things played out differently than expected in what was supposed to be a heavyweight bout between the California Collegiate Athletic Association‘s top two teams. Chico State entered Thursday night’s matchup on the longest winning streak in program history at 13 games, while the Toros were on an 11-game streak of their own.
To the crowds’ surprise, when the teams took the floor for pre-game warmups, the Wildcats only had seven players suited up for the game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Kerr was the sole starter of the usual starting five playing Thursday night.
The conference and Wildcats’ leading scorer, junior guard Jojo Murphy, along with junior forward Trae Taylor and sophomore forward Caden Harris, were suspended for one game with what interim head coach Cevin Meador described as “disciplinary issues.” Junior guard Miles Daniels was also not playing due to injury.
It is still unclear why these players were suspended; no further comments have been made about the issue. The Orion will update as more information becomes available
Despite a depleted roster, the Wildcats showed great fight with only seven available players against a formidable Toros squad. Kerr finished with 19 points on 50% shooting, and freshman Cortevious Taylor notched his first career double-double, totaling 14 points and 11 rebounds.

“It was definitely different,” Kerr said. “Obviously, we’ve never done this before, but all the guys did a great job of stepping into their role and just playing their ass off.”
Chico State’s defensive prowess kept things close in the first half, holding the Toro’s to only 29 points and forcing 14 turnovers throughout the game. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the Toros caught fire in the second half, putting up 50 points, shooting 61% from the field.
“We knew we were short-handed, but I know we have a lot of guys who can compete at a high level,” Kerr said. “I’m proud of our fight and I’m proud of everybody that came in and gave good minutes.”

With the loss, the Wildcats drop to second in the CCAA standings, but are looking forward to a rematch against the Toros in Carson on Feb. 22. The matchup may have significant implications down the road for the regular season’s final seedings.
The Wildcats should be back to full strength for another tough matchup against the Cal State LA Eagles at 3 p.m. on Saturday at home in the Acker Gymnasium.
Home games are free to attend for students who present their student ID 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].