ARCATA, Calif. – No. 19 Chico State stormed out to an early lead and never looked back as Humboldt State men's basketball dropped its fifth straight Thursday, 100-83.
 
Corey Silverstrom led the charge for the Wildcats (16-2, 9-1 CCAA) and scored 22 of his team-leading 33 points in the first 20 minutes. Chico State led by as many as 17 points in the first half and held a 46-33 advantage at intermission.
 
The Jacks (8-9, 3-7 CCAA) did not find their offensive footing early in the contest and shot just 12.5 percent from outside the arc. Tyras Rattler Jr. led the Green and Gold scorers with 11 points heading into the locker room.
 
"It was a little bit of a chess match tonight against Chico State," said Head Coach Steve Kinder. "It became small ball out there without Isaiah Ellis starting. They got in foul trouble early with their two other bigs and had to counter our smaller lineup, which was a plus for us in many ways. That was encouraging, because at times we were dictating the matchups."
 
The second half was more of the same as the Wildcats extended their lead to a game-high 19 points in the closing seconds. HSU picked up the pace on the offensive end and shot 59 percent from the field down the stretch.
 
For just the fourth time this season, Nikhil Lizotte led the Jacks in scoring. The sophomore scored 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.
 
Malik Morgan (17), Rattler (15) and Calvin Young II (10) registered double-digit scoring totals for HSU. Rattler also added a team-high eight boards.
 
"I am proud of our fans," said Kinder. "The attendance was great tonight, and the energy of the student body and community was fantastic. My gut feeling is that our crowd is proud of our effort. As a team and player to player, we all could look each other in the eye after the game and know we played hard and hustled."
 
The Jacks host Stanislaus State Saturday night beginning at 7:30 p.m.