For the first time the Chico State men’s basketball team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship Tournament after defeating Cal State San Bernardino 94-77.

The ‘Cats had split the regular season series with the Coyotes. Saturday night would be the third meeting between the two teams and it was dominated by Chico State.

The ‘Cats scored more points Saturday night than they ever have the past six seasons. It was an offensive explosion with Chico State shooting a mere 68.97% in the first-half and 65.38% the second-half.

Rashad Parker, Amir Carraway and Jordan Semple had 21 points apiece. While Sean Park, Giordano Estrada and Jordan Barton had 8 points as well.

The Coyotes lead early in the game when the score was 8-7 at the 16:35 mark. After that, Chico State would never trail for the rest of the game. Cal State San Bernardino ended the half on a 9-1 run and Chico State would keep the lead 49-41.

The ‘Cats came out for the second-half on a mission to win the game. Carraway scored the first eight points for Chico State and from that point on, the Coyotes would trail by ten or more points for the rest of the game. The biggest lead for Chico State was by 20 when the score reached 77-57.

Chico State improved to 24-7 and will face Cal State Stanislaus, a team it faced in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament finale and lost. The game will be on Monday at 7 p.m. in San Bernardino with a trip the Elite Eight on the line.

Sergio Sanchez can be reached at [email protected] or
@sergechez on Twitter