POMONA, Calif. -- Kevin Warren poured in 25 five points Saturday afternoon for Chico State, which dealt the 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific men a 70-65 loss in the Conference Crossover Challenge basketball tournament at Kellogg Arena.
 
The Wildcats (2-0), who were projected to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship by the preseason coaches poll, remained undefeated. They trailed for the majority of the second half before Joshua Hamilton converted two free throws with 6:26 remaining to even the score, 54-54.
 
A brief Chico lead was neutralized when SPU's Mehdi El Mardi made a layup with 3:58 to play, forging the game's eighth and final tie, 61-61.
 
Warren's 3-pointer at 3:27 put his team in front for good, igniting a game-closing 9-4 run. That spree featured six straight points, the first four from Hamilton. When Kelvin Wright made a layup with 38.5 seconds remaining, the score was 70-63.
 
Moffitt finished a driving layup with 12.2 seconds on the clock and SPU stole the inbounds pass, but was unable to score again.
 
The Falcons (1-3) lost their third straight game, including Friday's 75-71 overtime setback versus host Cal Poly Pomona.
 
On Sunday, the SPU men suffered a 64-59 setback at the hands of top-ranked Northwest Missouri State, the defending NCAA Division II champion. They started the season with a 77-71 victory over No. 20 Alabama Huntsville on Nov. 6.

SHAW ANDERSON HALFTIME BUZZER-BEATING JUMPER

SCORING SUMMARY
Moffitt and Shaw Anderson were the only two Falcons in double figures with 16 points apiece. All of Moffitt's scoring was done after halftime as he did not play during the first half due to a coaching decision. He was in the lineup for the start of the second half.
 
The senior point guard made 5 of 9 shots from the field and 6 of 10 free throws. Anderson compiled 12 of his points in the opening 20 minutes.
 
El Mardi chipped in eight points and sparked a 37-23 advantage on the boards with 10 rebounds.
 
SPU made half of its shots (26 of 52), including 4 of 9 success on trey tries. The Wildcats shot even better with 52-percent accuracy (28 of 54), but were just 4-for-18 from 3-point range.
 
Hamilton tallied 16 points for the Wildcats, who also got 13 from Wright and 10 from Isaiah Brooks, who also contributed five assists.
 
FIRST HALF
A back-and-forth opening period produced four ties and 16 lead changes as the teams never separated by more than four points. That gap came late in the half when the Wildcats reversed a 26-24 deficit with six straight points, four of them from Wright, to go ahead 30-26 with 4:28 showing on the clock.
 
The Falcons largest lead came nine minutes into the contest when consecutive baskets by Zack Paulsen and Anderson generated an 11-8 edge.
 
Both teams shot extremely well early, with SPU nailing all four of its 3-point attempts and knocking down attempts at a 60-percent clip overall (15 of 25). Chico countered with 56-percent accuracy (15 of 27), but was just 3-for-11 beyond the arc.
 
SPU tallied the final four points of the period to claim a 35-34 halftime lead. El Mardi grabbed an offensive rebound under the hoop and made a reverse layup in traffic with 51.7 seconds displayed on the clock.
 
The 6-foot-8 center collected another offense board on SPU's next trip down the floor, this one off a miss from Anderson. He quickly fed the ball to the center of the key back to Anderson, who nailed a jumper as time expired.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons remain on the road for another tournament next weekend. This one is closer to home as they travel to Bellingham, Washington for the two-day Chuck Randall Classic.
 
SPU opens on Friday against Azusa Pacific before meeting Concordia-Irvine next Saturday, Nov. 20. Both games are slated for 5:00 p.m. tip-offs at Carver Gymnasium on the Western Washington campus.
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 1-3
Chico State 2-0
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Chuck Randall Classic
Seattle Pacific vs. Azusa Pacific
Friday, November 19; 5:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.