A very sobering night at Acker Gym, at least for me and the handful of people who stuck around for the conclusion of both the Wildcat men's and women's games. That place cleared out pretty quick, as gyms tend to do when they're hosting blowouts, and on this particular night, it was hard to blame them.

In terms of overall picture, I don't think these were season-breaking losses for either team, but on this one night, both squads took a step back. The women didn't show an ability to adjust to an aggressive Cal State Dominguez Hills team. The men, in my view, were particularly disappointing in that they never looked to be in contention. Greg Clink said it best: "We let the scoreboard dictate the way we played." He said that a few times, and you could tell the sluggish effort was the most disconcerting thing for him.

MEN
UPS
Clear 'em.
Well, we sure got to see a lot of the bench, and Zach Graves produced 12 points while showing some strong playmaking ability. I wonder about his effectiveness as a slasher, only in that he's had trouble finishing, but the Toros had a lot to do with that. When he slows it down just a little bit, it seems like he's very capable of making strong court reads. He was forced to play some point and fared decently out of position.

Hanging in early. At least for a little while, the Wildcats looked somewhat competitive, even if "a little while" means about 5 minutes. I don't mean that in a sarcastic way; the Toros are a great team. But if we've seen one thing in the CCAA (keep in mind, on this same night, Sonoma State beat Cal State San Bernardino), the first step to beating a good team is believing you can.

Rocky theme playing now.

But, it is true. The Wildcats were in the same position last year on the final day of the season, and ended up handing Cal State Dominguez Hills a loss that shook up the West Regional mix. That's the one thing that was disconcerting in this one; Chico State just came off a very positive weekend. Once the Toros started opening up, there was little response, but for the short time they were in the game, the Wildcats looked like they believed they belonged there.

DOWNS
Get bigger and more athletic. What other advice can you give to combat the Toros? That team is a great collection of athletes and shooters; when your opponent is shooting 69 (69!) percent in the first half, you have to wonder if there comes a point when you just start praying for misses.

But, a lot of that figure had to do with fastbreak points and uncontested looks, which came on a few breakdowns after just one pass. It was too common of an occurrence last season to see one perimeter swing snap open a passing lane; this year, the Wildcats have done a good job of making teams use the whole shot clock. Clink is right; there were way too many easy entries and defensive lapses.

Fouling up. Again, this is also based on DH's athleticism, but the Wildcats got caught trailing plays a bunch, and I stopped counting the number of times I heard "don't reach!" coming from Chico State's bench, only to be followed by a whistle. Junior Russell picked up three quick ones. Chris Sharp fouled out with 15 minutes left in the game. Needless to say, how the Wildcats approach defensively from here on out will be interesting to see. Clink has vowed to get his team's defensive principles back in focus.

WOMEN
UPS
Mel-Rich? That's what's what local TV called Melissa Richardson last night. Bwugh. Still, there's no arguing that she was Chico State's hottest option on a night most of its other ones struggled to be effective. To me, Richardson always has to be involved early, but 15 points at halftime was a trend I wasn't sure would continue, and it didn't.

She is a very clutch shooter, but it's unfair to place that much scoring emphasis on a wing when the posts are providing so little. Repeatedly going to a forward or center wears teams down; going back to the 3-point line over and over (for one player, no less) is a good way to let a defense get its legs back and have a shot at transition. Regardless, Richardson has been on a tear and will only help when the true scorers get back to form.

You get the horns. I kind of wish Synchro Bull weighed about 100 pounds more, so she'd fit her name, but she's still ascending in the Wildcat offense. She did a great job of controlling the offense when she was in, with seven points in 16 minutes, but she'll need more floor time to make a greater impact. I think she'll get it fairly soon.

DOWNS
Still no stopper... Here's my take on the Wildcat defense: As a unit, it's decent; individually, there is no one outside of Natasha Smith that can really stop the ball. Brian Fogel prognosticated that they'd sorely miss Amanda Monteith, and in this one, that rang true. Neka Mixon of the Toros is a great player, but I doubt she would have had the impact she did if there was any kind of one-on-one resistance. Renee Goldoff and Cory Edwards each picked up four fouls trying to stop her. The Toros shot 55 percent in the second half.

Anyone interested? It didn't scream out at me until Fogel mentioned it, but the first thing out of his mouth regarding his team's performance was a lack of urgency. Thinking back, it did look an awful lot like the Wildcats thought, "Hey, we're at home, we don't really lose here too much, and TV will give us nicknames no matter what."

This conference is so balanced now that one nightly lapse could have a ton of implications. No, a four-loss CCAA team at this point probably will not be a contender down the stretch, but there's more than one way to get to the postseason. It's still not outside the realm of possibility, by a long shot. But focus has to improve. To be frank, Goldoff looked at times like she was simply over this game.

The contest was very much in reach, but watching the Wildcats play, you would have thought they were down by 40, just going through the motions. Not until there were 2 minutes left did you see much intensity, and that came from the bench. No confusing what's bugging Fogel at this point, and although he gave DH its due, he also was clearly disappointed his club didn't play with much fire.

We'll see how all of this is approached tonight againjst Cal State L.A.