La Jolla >> The Chico State men’s basketball team’s struggles continue as it fell for the second night in a row.
After falling to Cal State San Marcos by 18 points on Friday, the Wildcats suffered a lopsided 73-50 setback against UC San Diego Saturday night.
The Wildcats started the season out with a 9-2 stretch but have lost their third-straight game.
Chico State, making its return to RIMAC Arena, the site of last year’s West Region championship run, were hoping the location could spark a turnaround.
UC San Diego connected on its first six 3-pointers and 11 of its first 13 shots to race to a 30–11 lead and never looked back in a battle for third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings.
The Wildcats shot just 29 percent (15-for-52), including 18 percent from beyond the arc (2-for-11).
Corey Silverstrom led the Wildcats with 11 points while Nate Ambrosini scored 10 and pulled down five rebounds.
Chico State starters combined to shoot just 25 percent from the field and fell behind 46-23 at the break.
The Wildcats (9-5, 6-4 CCAA) return home to host Cal State San Bernardino at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
UC San Diego 84, Chico State 48 >> The Tritons shot 54 percent from the field and posted 50 first-half points to overtake the Wildcats at RIMAC Arena.
Saturday’s loss — the most lopsided defeat since December 5, 1997, when the ’Cats fell 106-59 to Central Washington — snapped Chico State’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Wildcats to 8-6 overall and 6-4 in the CCAA.
UC San Diego won its ninth straight contest to improve to 13-2 on the season and 9-0 in conference play.
Madison Wong led Chico State collecting 12 points, McKena Barker and Aqeelah Williams scored seven points apiece, with Kayla Taylor and Brynn Thoming each adding six points.
The Wildcats shot 30.9 percent (17-55) from the field, and were out-rebounded by the Tritons 48-24.
Things actually got off to an encouraging start for Chico State. Baskets by Wong and Taylor gave the Wildcats an early 4-3 lead, only to see UC San Diego rip off a 15-0 run to jump out in front 18-4.
Before the quarter was over, the Tritons had connected for six 3-pointers, and even though Jo Paine and Vanessa Holland hit shots late in the period, the ’Cats trailed 30-10 heading into the second quarter.
Things didn’t get any better in the third quarter. The Tritons cooled off slightly on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, held the Wildcats without a field goal. Free throws by Wong and Whitney Branham were the lone Chico State points of the period, and UC San Diego boasted a commanding 69-26 lead into the fourth quarter.