ARCATA — (Dec. 15) Using a 12-0 run midway through the second half, Humboldt State broke open a relatively close game on the way to a 76-62 victory over Notre Dame de Namur in Friday's feature game of the Lawrence R. DeBeni, Sr. Memorial Tournament.

In the opening game, Cal State Monterey Bay outlasted Western Oregon in a thrilling quadruple overtime encounter, riding Richard Jenkins' 57-point performance to a 126-122 victory. Western Oregon will play Notre Dame de Namur in the 5:30 p.m. game Saturday, followed by the championship between Humboldt State and CSU Monterey Bay.

In Friday's late game, Kevin Johnson and Devin Peal each scored 15 points, Will Sheufelt had 14 and Jeremiah Ward 12 to pace the Lumberjacks. Johnson also topped all rebounders with 11 boards, helping the Jacks improve to 4-2 overall while dropping NDNU to 5-2.

"I was proud of the way we sustained our intensity tonight," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "Our offense fed off our defense. Hopefully, we can show up and do the same tomorrow."

Notre Dame de Namur trailed by 10 at halftime, but cut the HSU lead to seven on Aaron Parker's jumper early in the second half. The Lumberjacks started their decisive surge with a pair of free throws by freshman Antonio Flaggs, and three-pointers by Flaggs, Peal and Ward helped the Jacks to their largest lead at 60-39 with 6 minutes, 17 seconds remaining.

The Argonauts mounted a desperation surge in the final three minutes, pulling within 11 on Chris Clock's three-pointer with 2:14 remaining, but it wasn't enough, as the Jacks nailed their free throws down the stretch. Clock was NDNU's leading scorer with 20 points, followed by Ryan Cooper's 11 and Eric Bossom's 10-point effort.

One of the keys to HSU's victory was its pressing defense, which forced the Argonauts into 27 turnovers. Humboldt State also held the edge on the boards, outrebounding NDNU 30-23.

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