An old adage states that when you find yourself in a fight, you should always hit first and hit hard.

So far, the ‘Cats are two-for-two.

The Chico State men’s basketball team started its 2013-14
season with a bang Saturday, handily defeating visiting Holy Names University,
75-43.

Wildcats guard Sean Park caught fire early, dissecting the road teams stifling zone defense on his way to scoring Chico State’s first basket at the 17:54 mark of the first half.

Despite man-to-man defensive adjustments, Holy Names University had no answer for Park, who ended the half with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.

Chico State would head into the locker room at the half nursing a comfortable 37-14 lead.

Holy Names University showed they still had a pulse in the second half, buckling down on defense and capitalizing on a number of Chico State turnovers.

But Chico State stayed on course, as heady second half guard play courtesy of Rashad Parker and Giordano Estrada put an exclamation point on a dominant 40-minute performance on both ends of the floor.

This year, the ’Cats look to deliver an impressive follow-up to last season’s 19-11 finish that culminated in its second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

The Wildcats will try and continue its winning ways when they take on Cal State Stanislaus next Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7pm.

Taylor Maddox can be
reached at [email protected]
or @theorion_sports on Twitter.