After losing their first conference game on Thursday to the San Bernardino Coyotes, the Chico State Men’s Basketball team added their first California Collegiate Athletic Association win of the season on Saturday against the Pomona Broncos, winning 65-55.

Junior Adam Afifi led the Wildcats in points with a career-high of 23, to give them a cushion. Afifi went 8 for 12 from the field, two of those being 3-pointers and he went a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line.

“It was a good game. I appreciate my teammates for finding me, I was just trying to find myself in the flow of the offense but you know it was a good team win,” Afifi said.

It wasn’t just Afifi who helped lead the Wildcats to their first conference win. Sophomore Miles Daniels, who came off the bench in Saturday’s game, scored 15 points with three assists and a solo steal. Daniels helped the Wildcats late in the game going 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Despite only scoring five points, freshman Caden Harris also grabbed six rebounds throughout the game.

The Wildcats brought their poor shooting performance back to life in Saturday’s game by shooting just under 50% from 3-point range and the field.

This was a big win for the Wildcats early in the season. They hope to keep the ball rolling and go into the new year with a long win streak.

“We’ve been taking a lot of strides. I feel like we are not 100% there yet offensively or defensively, we still have a lot to work on but we come in night in and night out and compete,” Afifi said.  “We got the win, that’s all that matters.”

The Wildcats next game is against the Sonoma State Seawolves on Thursday. The Seawolves come into this game with an overall record of 4-3 and 1-1 in conference play. You can watch the game here.

Nick Sanders can be reached at [email protected]