Chico State arrives late to its party at Stanislaus State

Despite getting stuck in traffic on the way to Turlock, Chico State’s men’s basketball team drove away with an 84-69 victory over the Stanislaus State Warriors in a non-conference game Wednesday at Fitzpatrick Arena.

The Wildcats arrived in Turlock nearly three hours late because of a freeway closure on Highway 99 near Elk Grove. The game start time was adjusted to 7:55 p.m. once the visiting team arrived in the Fitzpatrick Arena about 10 minutes before 7 p.m., the game’s original start time.

Kyi Thomas started the delayed game with consecutive three-pointers, and the Warriors rattled off a 12-0 start and led 17-4 with 13 minutes, 30 seconds to play in the first half.

But Chico State (8-1) chipped away after starting 2-for-13 from the floor. The Wildcats hit 70 percent of their shots in the second half to outgun Stanislaus 52-39.

Robert Duncan scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, including 4-for-4 from three-point range. Duncan also had eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Three other Wildcats – Drew Kitchens (15), Jalen McFerren (14) and Tanner Giddings (13) – also scored in double digits.

Christian Bayne led the Warriors with 16 points, 14 in the second half. Thomas finished with 15, and Kyle Gouveia scored 12, many of them second-chance scores or offensive put-backs. Richard Medina led the team with seven rebounds.

Chico State was 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from long range and held a 31-29 edge in rebounds.

The Warriors (3-4) will resume conference play Friday at Cal State Monterey Bay in Seaside.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Chico State arrives late to its party at Stanislaus State."