BOX SCORE Chico State 71, Sonoma State 60 -- Box Score

ROHNERT PARK -- Justin Herold and the Sonoma State men's basketball team jumped out to a quick lead and held an eight-point lead at halftime, but Chico State exploded for 49 second-half points to slingshot past the hosts for the 71-60 win in front of 1,845 fans on Saturday night in The Wolves' Den.  The Seawolves see a three-game win streak end, falling to 9-11 and 7-9 in the CCAA, but has a two-game lead over Humboldt State for eighth place in the conference.  The Wildcats improve to 11-9 overall and even their conference record at 8-8 to land in a three-way tie for fifth place in the standings.

Fueled by the emotion of a packed den, Herold got the Seawolves off to a hot start as he scored the game's first six points to put SSU up 6-0 after two minutes of play.  However, the Wildcats came storming back to tie the game at 7-7 three minutes later and from then on, it would be a back-and-forth battle.  With 3:26 left in the half and Sonoma State up three points, two consecutive dunks by Herold and a layup by Brandon Glanz extended SSU's lead to as much as nine points at 29-20 with 1:09 left before halftime.  It would eventually be a 30-22 Seawolf lead at the intermission.

While Sonoma hit 48 percent of its shots at 12 of 25, as it would do most of its damage in the paint, dropping in 20 of its first 30 points from the key.  SSU would only drain one three pointer in the opening period on one of five from long range.  Meanwhile, Chico was held to just 8 of 29 from the hardwood and 1 of 12 from the three-point arc, accounting for the Wildcats' slow start offensively.

For what Chico State couldn't do in the first half, they made up for in the final 20 minutes, connecting on 17 of 29 (59.6 percent), including 5 of 8 from downtown.  Sonoma State cooled to a 41-percent clip in the second period, and coupled with eight turnovers and a 1 for 9 effort from three-point land, the Seawolves couldn't catch up with the furious Wildcat rally down the stretch.  A pair of free throws by Will Olsem at the 7:19 mark put SSU up by one at 54-53, but a layup by Chico's Damario Sims wiht 7:07 left gave the visitors a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.  In fact, the Wildcats went on an 18-6 run in the final seven minutes of regulation, scoring nine of the last 11 points in the contest by either team.

Herold netted a season-high 20 points on 9 of 11 from the floor, corralling a team-high rebounds.  Olsem dropped in 18 points on 4 of 10 shooting, in addition to a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line.  As a team, Sonoma was 22 of 49 from the floor (44.9 percent), making just two of its 14 three-point attempts.

Amir Carraway led Chico State with 20 points, matching Herold for game-high honors in points.  Sims chipped in with 17 points and Rashad Parker recorded 12 in the Wildcats' first win in four games.

While 1,845 fans, including SSU alum and Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Allen, packed the den for the annual Pack The Den Night, it was a couple hundred shy of breaking The Wolves' Den's attendance record of 2,052, which was set twice -- the last being back on Feb. 25, 2006 against Chico State.

With six games left in the regular season, Sonoma State will play four of its final six on the road, beginning on Friday when the Seawolves travel to Carson to face Cal State Dominguez Hills.  Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Torodome.