Published 2012-03-04T22:26:00Z”/>

Adam Levine

The Wildcats won’t be bringing home another title banner just yet

 After an adrenaline-filled, semifinal win against rival Sonoma State Friday, the men’s basketball team fell short Saturday in the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship game against Humboldt State.

The team was able to pull out a last-second 76-74 victory Friday against Sonoma State thanks to a buzzer-beating jump shot by junior guard Damario Sims. However, the Wildcats were unable to continue the magic Saturday as they fell 89-76 to the rival Humboldt State Lumberjacks in the finals of the tournament.

The team did not defend as well as it was capable of doing, head coach Greg Clink said of Saturday’s loss.

 “Humboldt played as well as they possibly could,” Clink said. “They just shot the ball really well.”

Humboldt State shot 73 percent from the arc and 55 percent from the field.

The loss came after one of the best dogfights Chico State has participated in.

The game still meant a lot to senior guard Jay Flores, he said.

 I don’t have a lot of games left, and just the belief from the rest of the guys that we could win was amazing,” Flores said. “It shows that we can do anything and to not lose faith.”

On Friday, the ’Cats trailed for the majority of the game against Sonoma State and were behind by nine points with just four minutes left to play in the second half. They refused to just roll over though and came back under the leadership of sophomore forward Amir Carraway.

With just seconds to go, the Wildcats scored a quick three-point shot from the hands of Carraway. The sophomore notched 19 points for the game, a new career-high, with 17 coming in the second half.

Following Carraway’s three-pointer, Flores stole the ball from former Sonoma State teammate Steven Pratt before getting it to Sims, who stepped up and made the shot for the win after struggling during the majority of the game.

Everyone on the team knew the shot was good right away, junior center Jason Conrad said.

“It was the most exciting thing I have ever been a part of,” he said. “I was almost in tears. I don’t even know how to describe it.”

Conrad contributed 11 points and six rebounds in Friday’s game.

The tears of joy after the win turned into the opposite after Saturday’s contest. Sims felt the heat from his buzzer-beating shot and remained hot on offense, leading the ’Cats with 15 points.

Despite Saturday night’s disappointing loss, Clink still thinks Chico State will be awarded one of the at-large bids to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regional tournament.

“I like our chances against anybody,” Clink said.

It was determined Sunday that the men’s basketball team earned the fifth seed in the West Region in the NCAA and will face the fourth-seeded Humboldt State in a rematch Friday.

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