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The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Men’s turnaround year ends in disappointment

Published 2003-03-12T00:00:00Z”/>

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Aaron Gold<br>Assistant Sports Editor

18-9 was just not good enough. The turnaround season for Chico men’s basketball ended on a sour note when the team announced Monday it will not be going to the West Regional playoffs.

“I’m not real objective about it, but I think we could have done some damage in the postseason,” said coach Prescott “Puck” Smith. “The committee didn’t see it that way and so we’re not going to have that opportunity.”

Chico State did its best to catch the eyes of the selection committee by winning 10 of its last 12 games. The last time Chico was on the losing side was Valentine’s Day. Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be.

“We were playing the best basketball of anyone in the league at the end of the year,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing that we can’t continue.”

The National Collegiate Athletic Association decides which teams advance based on overall record, head-to-head competition, record against common opponents, records against Division II teams and strength of schedule. The final spot was up-for-grabs going into the last weekend of play with Chico and Cal State Bakersfield fighting for the No. 8 seed. Bakersfield lost one less game than Chico and its overall strength of schedule was greater. Chico had a better record versus the West Region teams and a better strength of schedule against West Region opponents. Chico and Bakersfield split the season series with each team winning on its home court. Against common opponents, Chico was 16-7 and Bakersfield was 15-8

David Yanai, head men’s basketball coach at Cal State L.A. and West Region Chair, said the bottom five teams were so close that the committee was forced to go with a tiebreaker for spots six through 10. Chico ended up with the 10th spot because the only team they won a tiebreaker over was Bakersfield. Bakersfield, however, won tiebreakers over four other teams, and those other teams won tiebreakers over Chico. It sounds confusing, but the formulas employed by the committee illustrate how close the five teams were ranked.

“In my mind, (Chico) would have been a very worthy team,” Yanai said. “It’s how you play over 27 games, that’s how you have to rank it.”

In games against the eight-team field, Bakersfield was 2-4. One of the two victories came against Cal State San Bernardino, after San Bernardino missed a free throw at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime.

Not including the preseason game against Humboldt State, Chico played eight games against the eight-team field. The Wildcats were victorious three times, including a two-game season sweep of the No. 4 team, Cal Poly Pomona. Two of the five loses came against the West’s No. 2 team, San Bernardino.

Even though Chico picked up victories, games against Holy Names, Bethany College and Dominican University hurt the Wildcats.

“I don’t know what the committee considered to break that tie, but it’s certainly out of our control,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing but those things happen.”

Despite the lack of love from the committee, Chico State still ended the season in style. On a night when Scott Land – the conference’s second-leading scorer – was injured with a sprained ankle, graduating senior Daveris Hester made sure his story and legacy would be remembered forever.

Against Cal State Dominguez Hills, Hester set the all-time Chico record for points in a game. He broke the 27-year-old mark of 41 set by Gary Melugin in 1976 with 42 points. Hester ended the game 15 of 20 from the floor, a perfect five of five from the line and also drained seven threes.

“I really feel bad for our seniors,” Smith said. “Hester, who was our senior starter, sacrificed a lot to be a part of this team and was very responsible for a lot of our successes. I really wanted to get in the postseason for him.”

What Chico did this season will go down as one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Wildcat history. After winning just six games last season, most around the team were hoping the Wildcats could get to .500. With an 18-9 mark and missing the playoffs by one game, Chico has not only turned around the program but exceeded everyone’s expectations.

“This is a tremendous experience being involved with this group,” Smith said. “It was a very committed group, hard working and very cohesive. It was certainly a highlight of my coaching career.” <em>Aaron Gold can be reached at <a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a></em>

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