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SEATTLE – Malik Duffy compiled 19 of his game-high 25 points during the first half Friday for Chico State which surged ahead early and held off Seattle Pacific for a 75-53 win on the first day of the Sodexo Classic men's basketball tournament at Brougham Pavilion.
 
That was the season-opening game for both teams.
 
The Wildcats (1-0) complemented Duffy's offensive outburst with a pressure defense that forced 19 Falcons turnovers. Eleven of those miscues were caused by Chico steals.
 
SPU (0-1) was limited to 35-percent shooting from the field (17 of 48), including just 6-for-24 accuracy from 3-point range.
 
Chico countered with 52-percent shooting (27 of 52) and made 6 of 16 treys.

 

Held without a double-figure scorer, the Falcons were led by senior guard Gavin Long and red-shirt freshman forward Jacob Medjo who had nine points apiece. Medjo converted 3 of 4 shots, all of them from behind the arc.
 
"Jacob is one of the best shooters in our program," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "We love that it comes from a guy with size. We've got a long tradition of using skilled bigs and finding ways to make them fit what we do and how we play. Jake is going to fall right in line with that.
 
"He just continues to develop and improve and get better in practice every day. First college game for him. He missed last year with an injury so it was really good for him to get out there and have some success shooting the ball."
 
Freshman Shaw Anderson chipped in seven points, a figure matched by Mehdi El Mardi and Braden Olsen.
 
Numerous Newcomers
Six of the 11 men who saw action made their Falcons debut., including Medjo, Anderson and El Mardi, a junior center who transferred from Trevecca Nazarene. Also performing for the first time in an SPU jersey were freshmen Zack Paulsen, Jacob Parola along with red-shirt freshman Filip Fullerton, a Portland State transfer.
 
"We're are extremely enthusiastic about this group," Leep exclaimed. "They've been amazingly coachable to this point and I expect that to continue. With that, we'll be able to make some big strides quickly."
 
Four Wildcats reached double figures in scoring. Justin Briggs had 14 points, Calvin Geraci 12 and Isaiah Brooks 11.
 
But it was Duffy who did most of the damage, helped by foul trouble that saw four Falcons play limited first-half minutes due to two personals.
 
"He's such a tough cover because he is a very good shooter and when he gets to his spots on the court he is a terrific finisher," Leep said of Duffy. "When Shaw and Harry (Cavell), who were the two guys that we were going to use primarily to cover him, both got in first-half foul trouble that made it a really tough matchup for us.
 
"Once he gets going and they get that inside presence established, that opens up a whole bunch of other options for them."
 
SPU went up 1-0 before a second had ticked off the clock as Chico was issued an administrative technical foul for not reporting starters to the scorebook in time. Harry Cavell sank the subsequent free throw.
 
The Wildcats quickly erased that deficit with a reverse layup by Brooks that started a run of six straight points.
 
SPU gained its last lead, at 13-12, on a layup by Long with 11:50 left in the first half.
 
Duffy netted the next eight points, capped by consecutive 3-pointers, to put the Wildcats ahead for good.
 
The visitors constructed a 43-29 halftime advantage behind Duffy's 19-point performance in the period.
 
The visitors tallied the first seven points after intermission to claim a commanding 50-29 lead.
 
Falcons Rally
 

But the Falcons had a comeback in them.
 
They got the next four points, on a 3-pointer by El Mardi and a free throw from Divant'e Moffitt. That ignited a 15-2 run that brought them within 52-44, the first time the deficit was under double digits since the first half.
 
SPU reeled off 11 unanswered point to conclude the spree, seven of them from Anderson.
 
"We showed some pretty good resolve," Leep said. "We've always had a good run in us, but we need those runs to happen when we aren't down so far."
 
Chico's lead that had shrunk to eight points quickly grew to 12, at 56-44, after back-to-back baskets by Duffy and Briggs. They started the Wildcats on the way to a 17-3 surge that stretched the lead to 69-47 and turned back any hopes of a rally by the home team.
 
The margin grew to as many as 25 points, at 75-50, on a layup by Warren with 1:35 remaining.
 
Duffy led all rebounders with nine to spearhead Chico's 34-26 advantage on the boards.
 
Next Game
The Sodexo Classic concludes Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, beginning at 5:15 p.m. with Azusa Pacific playing Chico State. The SPU men clash with Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30 p.m.
 
Azusa defeated Pomona 66-62 in Friday's opening game of the tournament.
 
"With the nature of our group, it's going to be really good for them to get back out there tomorrow. We've got to have a short memory," said Leep. "We're playing another really good team tomorrow and that's how our preseason schedule is set up. We need to get back out there and get live game reps."
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Sodexo Classic
Friday, Nov. 8, 2019
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
 
Chico State 75, at Seattle Pacific 53
 
CHICO STATE (1-0)
Briggs 7-8 0-3 14, Duffy 7-11 8-8 25, Geraci 5-9 2-2 12, Brooks 4-9 0-0 11, Warren 1-3 4-4 6, Wright Jr. 1-1 0-1 2, Hamilton 1-4 0-0 2, Orr 1-2 0-0 2, Lashells 0-2 1-2 1, Wheeler 0-0 0-0 0, Lavergne 0-1 0-0 0, Curls 0-0 0-0 0, Parker 0-1 0-0 0, Stroud 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 15-20 75.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (0-1)
Anderson 3-6 1-1 7, El Mardi 3-6 0-0 7, Cavell 1-5 2-2 4, Moffitt 1-3 3-4 5, Long 2-8 5-7 9, Medjo 3-4 0-0 9, Olsen 2-7 2-2 7, Paulsen 1-3 0-0 3, Fullerton 1-4 0-0 2, Khan 0-2 0-0 0, Parola 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 13-16 53.
 
Chico State   .........43   32  -   75
Seattle Pacific........29   24  -   53
 
3-point goals--Chico 6-16 (Duffy 3-5, Brooks 3-5, Geraci 0-1, Warren 0-2, Hamilton 0-2, Stroud 0-1), SPU 6-24 (Medjo 3-4, Olsen 1-2, El Mardi 1-1, Paulsen 1-3, Cavell 0-4, Fullerton 0-2, Khan 0-2, Anderson 0-2, Long 0-4). Fouled out--Chico-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--Chico 34 (Duffy 9), SPU 26 (El Mardi 5). Assists--Chico 12 (Geraci, Brooks 3), SPU 8 (Cavell 3). Total fouls--Chico 19, SPU 20. Technical fouls--Chico-Team, Geraci, SPU-None. Att-485.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Sodexo Classic
Cal Poly Pomona at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.