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ONTARIO — Cal State Stanislaus, one of the hottest teams in the country during this postseason run, continues to roll as the Warriors won the CCAA championship with a resounding win over arch-rival Chico State, 82-70, Saturday night.

The Warriors continue to make history for the Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball program, earning their first ever conference tournament title. With the win, the Warriors can now book their tickets to the NCAA Championship tournament next week.

Cal State Stanislaus, winner of seven straight games, improved to 21-8 overall. The 21 wins also tied a school record in victories, matching the record set by the 1988-89 team coached by John Jones in the program's final season as a Division III program.

Inside the Citizens Business Bank Arena Saturday night, the Warriors were led by Chris Read's 20 points and tournament's Most Outstanding Player Sam Marcus had 19 points after hitting 3-for-3 from long range in the second half.

Marcus Bell and Rob Walters controlled the paint as Bell scored 18 points with eight rebounds and Walters grabbed 14 rebounds with 12 points for the Warriors' balance attack. Both Bell and Walters were named to the all-tournament team.

"We came together in a team meeting and told ourselves that we have to play together to win this championship and that's what we did," said Read, the CCAA's Newcomer of the Year.

Impressively, the Warriors took control of the championship match with a lot of intensity early, shooting 60 percent in the first half while playing great defense. Stanislaus dominated the post with Walters and Bell out-scoring and out-rebounding their opponents inside.

The Warriors jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and extended that advantage to 20 on a 16-6 run capped by a Alek Carlson three-pointer at 3:52 to go in the first half.

A pair of late Chico State three-pointers to close out the first half made it a 38-24 hafltime score.

Beating the Wildcats in their game, the Warriors were prolific from behind the arch as they nailed all six three-point tries — including several key treys in the second half to turn away any Chico State surge.

Marcus hit a three-pointer at 16:37 to give the Warriors a 19-point lead. He then hit another at 14:10 to end a 7-0 Chico run for a 48-33 lead. Taylor Bell followed it shortly after with a trey to put the Warriors up 18 with 12:41 to play.

Marcus wasn't done. His third three-pointer in a five-minute strech at 11:13 again quiet the Wildcats bench. Bell would answer a Mike Rosaroso three-pointer for Chico with his second triple at 5:57 to go.

"Sam's been with us for four years and has been through some tough times," Reynolds said. "He's the glue, the assist man and the guy who gets the ball upcourt for us without much help. Through his work and determination, he's got us to a school-record 21 wins in Division II. He's very much underrated and I'm so happy he got the MVP after not making the all-CCAA team."

Cal State Stanislaus, which ranked No. 9 in the latest West Region poll, will receive the CCAA's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The regional tournament pairings will be announced by the NCAA on NCAA.com Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

After Friday's semifinal win over top seeded Cal State San Bernardino, the Warriors had matched the school's Division II win-total record of 20, set twice in the 1986-87 and 1992-93 seasons.

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS

Watch the Postgame Interviews with Head Coach Larry Reynolds, Sam Marcus and Rob Walters


MODESTO BEE'S COVERAGE
Stanislaus men throttle Chico in CCAA final, earn first NCAA Division II bid
Stanislaus tourney MVP Marcus strikes a blow for the little guy