Barring some miracle that would catapult CSUDH up two spots from No. 10 after tonight's loss in the next NCAA regional poll, the Toros saw their season come to a frustrating end tonight, evidenced by not only shooting 33.3% from the foul line, but also by having possession of the ball down 63-60 with :08 left, and failing to get off a final attempt.

"Chico State played with more energy, passion, and emotion," said a dejected Damaine Powell, after the loss.  "They came in determined, and once it became competitive in the last five minutes, we tightened up.  Our guys wanted it really bad, but we played tight."

Chico State, which improved to 16-12 with the win, advances to Friday's CCAA semifinals against top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona, which took a 57-45 win over 8th-seeded Cal State L.A. earlier tonight.

The Wildcats started hot, taking an early 7-2 lead on a Zach Graves triple at the 17:13 mark, only to have the Toros chip away and catch CSUC at 11-11 on a Tim McGrath 3-pointer of his own before racing out to an 11-point lead at the 6:20 and 5:19 marks of the first period, eventually settling for a 30-25 lead entering the break.

That ending to the half proved to be a harbinger of things to come, with CSUDH coming close to breaking the game open after taking an 11 point lead three times in the second half's first 10 minutes of play, only to have Chico State hang around and stay within striking distance, each time whittling its deficit to single digits.

"We could never separate ourselves and put the game away," Powell continued.  "Psychologically, it's a big difference between 13 and 7 points.  Once we got out to a double-digit lead, they would come back with a 3 and bring it back to single digits."

A 46-35 Toro lead at the 10:22 mark quickly was erased by a 12-2 Wildcat run, the last points coming on a Jon Baird triple to cut CSUDH's lead to just one at 48-47.

A Marcquintice Davis jumper gave the Toros a slight cushion, but the Wildcats gained momentum with each possession, while CSUDH's foul line woes began to show in crunch time as the Toros misfired on 6-of-7 attempts from the line.

The Wildcats finally took the lead at 58-56 on another Baird 3-pointer before the Toros knotted the contest on a McGrath bucket.  Clutch CSUC free throw shooting, however, proved the difference as three-of-four makes in the final minute of play almost proved too much to overcome.

CSUC allowed the Toros one final chance after Baird was only able to drain one of two from the foul line with eight seconds left, but the Wildcats smothered both Toro long-range bombers in Davis and McGrath, keeping CSUDH from even attempting a final shot as the horn sounded.

The Toros held CSUC to just 36.0% shooting while making 41.9% of their own shots, but suffered at the charity stripe with a disappointing 4 makes in 12 attempts, compared to Chico State's 20-of-25 from the line, including 12-of-16 after intermission.

Wildcat Damario Sims led all scorers with 21 points, while Baird chipped in 13 in the win.  Conversely, McGrath paced CSUDH with 15 points, with Davis adding 13 in the loss. 

"I'm proud of our guys, who fought together after starting the season 0-7," says Powell.  "We were two games from winning the conference, and after our start, no one would've even thought that would be possible."

This marks the second-consecutive year the Toros have earned the right to host a first round league playoff game and lost after last season's 79-73 defeat at the hands of Cal State Monterey Bay.

CSUDH finishes with a 16-12 overall and 16-6 league mark, and will return 12 players for 2010-11.

"Next year is promising, but we have a lot of work to do," Powell concludes.  "The returning guys have to learn from this year.  We have a long way to go."