The No.13 Wildcats were visiting the newly-named Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks in the first leg of their California Collegiate Athletic Association road-trip. In their earlier match up from 2021 the Wildcats dominated the Lumberjacks at Acker Gym. 

This match up against the Lumberjacks was the first time the Wildcats were playing against a near-full capacity crowd since their home game against the Stanislaus State Warriors back in Jan. 2 due to COVID protocols. 

Senior guard Isaiah Brooks said it was great playing in front of a crowd. 

“My teammates and I enjoy playing in front of people,” Brooks said, “it adds pressure which makes us better.”

The Wildcats were coming off a tough loss against the Monterey Bay Otters, and senior guard Kevin Warren said the team wanted to get back in the win column.

“We just wanted to stick together through adversity and stay composed,” Warren said. “We knew we had to bring energy and wanted to get back on track.”

This time around the Lumberjacks kept the game a lot closer, but it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats prevailed 66-58.

After a free throw from freshman guard Evan Oliver the Wildcats would go up 16 in the first half, their largest lead of the game. Heading into halftime, the Wildcats were up 36-23.

The Lumberjacks were shooting well from the field and from beyond the arc, but they were down because of two things. Their free throw shooting, as they were 0-7 from the charity stripe, and the current CCAA player of the week, Jaden Edwards was held scoreless.

Warren said he tried to make it hard on Edwards to get comfortable.

“Definitely tried to make it tough for him to catch it in certain spots on the floor,” Warren said. “I had to keep constant pressure on him when he was looking to score.”

Free throw shooting was a big factor in this game as the Wildcats shot 16-20, 80% from the line, while the Lumberjacks shot a poor 5-14, 36% from the line. 

With five minutes remaining in the second half, the Lumberjacks cut the Wildcats’ lead to four. Momentum seemed to shift in favor of the hosting Lumberjacks, but they would be held scoreless for the next four minutes. 

This gave the Wildcats enough cushion. There wasn’t enough time for a comeback and the Lumberjacks would fall short. 

The Wildcats would beat the Lumberjacks on their homecoming night for their new name. This was their 11th win in the last 12 meetings between the schools.

The Wildcats have fallen from No. 4 in Division to No. 13 in a couple of weeks, but Brooks said that because of their mentality, coaching, and player contribution they will be able to bounce back and get on track on a short notice.

“We can motivate ourselves to get into the right spots,” Brooks said. “That allows us to be able to get on the right foot moving forward.” 

In their last game of their four game road trip, the Wildcats visited the Sonoma State Seawolves. 

The Seawolves were on a four game losing streak, while the Wildcats were fresh off a win against Cal Poly Humboldt. 

The Wildcats would be too much for the hosting Seawolves at Rohnert Park. 

The Seawolves started off the first half by hitting their first three 3-pointers. This would headstart the half for them. 

After another 3-point shot from the Seawolves, the Wildcats went down 28-21, their biggest deficit of the game. 

The Wildcats would go into halftime trailing 35-40. The Seawolves were scorching hot from beyond the arc as they shot 62%.

After a layup by junior guard Joshua Hamilton, the Wildcats were on top 56-55 and wouldn’t give up their lead.

Hamilton said it came down to their defense to secure this win for the team.

“Trusting in our defensive principles was key for us in this game,” Hamilton said. 

The Wildcats defeated the Seawolves 77-68, and would move on to be 13-2 on the season. Hamilton led all scorers with 16 points for the night. Senior forward Malik Duffy would record his fourth triple-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Wildcats swept their road-trip and Hamilton said the team knows how tough CCAA games are, making this sweep important for them moving forward.

“These wins were really big for our team to continue to get better,” Hamilton said. “It helped us gel together for next week.”

Duffy said it feels good to come back to Chico with a win. 

“This is a huge week for us, and having the crowd back will be a huge boost for us.” Duffy said.

The Wildcats begin their home stand hosting the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Acker Gym.

Javier Hernandez can be reached at [email protected] and @jhm1226 on Twitter.