Wildcats Hold Off Toros Men By an Inch, 78-76
January 15, 2005

Courtesy Chico State Sports Information Office

Complete Box Score

CHICO, Calif. ­ Cliché or not, basketball is truly a game of inches, and it was an inch that made the difference Saturday night as the Chico State men's basketball team held off Cal State Dominguez Hills for a 78-76 victory at Acker Gym Saturday night.

Les Norman thought he buried the game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, but his foot was on the line, leaving host Chico with a 77-76 lead. After Colin Carr made one-of-two free throws with three seconds remaining, Quenton Harvey failed to get off his desperation 3-pointer before the buzzer sounded.

Jason Van Eck led Chico State, 9-4 overall and 4-2 in the CCAA, with a season-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Tim Haley dished out a career-best 13 assists, and Scott Land hit 5-of-10 3-pointers en route to 18 points.

Norman paced Cal State Dominguez Hills with a game-high 25 points before fouling out with three seconds to play. Phillip Givens and Saul Lankster added 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Toros fell to 3-10 overall and 2-4 in the CCAA.

Cal State Dominguez Hills led for much of the early going before the Wildcats charged into the lead with a19-5 run fueled by Van Eck's nine points. A pair of Doug Little free throws with 1:31 to play before intermission gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the night, 38-26.

Chico State remained comfortably in the lead until the Toros' Lankster hit a 3-pointer and Norman followed with three free throws to cut the lead to 68-65 with 7:13 to play. Land's 3-pointer and a Van Eck layup kept Dominguez Hills at bay, but two Norman free throws after Land was called for a technical foul made it 75-74 with 2:04 remaining.

Both teams came up empty on their next four possessions, however, before Will Bonner made one-of-two free throws after an intentional foul with 17 seconds to play. Haley made one-of-two free throws to stretch the advantage of 77-74 before Norman took what he thought was the game-tying 3-pointer. Turns out it was a two.

The Toros have a homestand next weekend, first hosting UC San Diego Friday, then Cal State San Bernardino Saturday.