The Wildcats handily defeated the Sonoma State Seawolves 95-68 in their last homestand of the season Thursday night. Led by junior forward Trae Taylor’s perfect 32-point performance, Chico State extended their win streak to seven games.
Straight off the jump, Taylor proved to be a problem for the Seawolves, scoring eight points through the first seven minutes of play. He finished the half with 18 points total, only two short of his previous season high.
“I’ve just been grinding, I’ve been putting a lot of work in to try and be as consistent as I can,” Taylor said. “I got a bunch of great guards around me who throw some insane passes, so they make my job really easy and I hope I do the same for theirs.”
Taylor finished the game shooting a perfect 14-of-14 from the field, setting career highs in points scored, field goals made and field goal percentage.
“I watched a lot of film on this team, and we played them not too long ago, so honestly, going into the game, my mindset was that nobody could stop me, and I feel like it worked out,” Taylor said.
Sophomore forward Caden Harris was also feeling it in the first half, connecting on three of his first four attempts from beyond the arch. Harris finished the game with 21 points to go along with five three-pointers, leaving him only one bucket shy of his career high.
“It’s really just a mental thing [Harris on his shot-making ability], just playing free and letting the shots fly, miss or make you just can’t worry about it,” Harris said.
Thanks to the pair of forwards, the Wildcats mounted to a 15-point lead after a dominant first 20 minutes. At the half, the packed crowd at the Acker Gymnasium was greeted by Chico State’s Expressions Dance Team. The Expressions team performed the same routine that recently won the dancers first place in the Division II/III 4-Year College Pom Category at the USA Nationals on Feb. 18.
Once the performance and halftime concluded, Taylor and the Wildcats picked up right where they left off. The energy of the home crowd and the pace at which they were playing proved to be too much for the Seawolves as Chico was able to extend their lead to 20 points.
“Coming into our last two home games we knew we were going to get a good crowd tonight and we just wanted to put on for the town and the city, and just have a good time and enjoy our last couple home games,” Harris said.
To his standards, it was a quiet night for junior guard and the conference’s leading scorer, Jojo Murphy, who finished with 16 points, 8 assists and five boards. As a benefactor to the win, the Wildcats now lead the CCAA in total points per game, averaging 79.7 per 40 minutes.
The Wildcats improved to 18-3 through conference play and 22-5 on the season. They have already clinched a first round bye in the conference playoff tournament and currently hold the third seed in the NCAA DII West Regional poll.
“These last two games are our biggest and we’ve had these marked on our calendars,” Taylor said. “Whenever we get a crowd like this we just want to put on a show and dominate, but we want to win it all, so we’re going to give our all.”
Chico State’s next and final game of the regular season is on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Acker Gymnasium against the Cal State San Marcos Cougars. The team will honor its two seniors, center Hugo Clarkin and guard Jayden Johnston, in a pregame ceremony for the team’s senior day.
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 orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.
