ARCATA — (Jan. 27) Delivering the knockout blow with an explosive second half surge, Humboldt State cruised to a 74-56 win over Chico State in the renewal of a men's basketball rivalry dating back to the 1933-34 season.

Another home victory improved the Jacks to 14-3 overall and 9-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Chico State fell to 6-11 on the season, dropping to 4-7 in conference play.

Five Lumberjacks scored in double figures in a balanced offensive effort, led by Devin Peal's 17 point output. Kevin Johnson scored 15 and Grayson Moyer added 14, with Jeremiah Ward contributing 10.?

One of the biggest contributions of the evening came from junior center Cy Vandermeer.?Along with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, Vandermeer grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and blocked two shots.?

"We knew it was a big game, and we knew we had to play hard," Vandermeer said. "I had confidence in my shot tonight, so I took it up hard. Whatever it takes, I'm happy as long as we get a win."

Andy Bocian scored 14 points to pace the Wildcats, Frank Igbekoyi came off the bench to add 11, and Brian Erickson had 10 points for Chico State.

Turnovers were more plentiful than points in the early moments of the game, and after nearly six minutes the game was tied at only 6-6. From there, the pace picked up, as did the shooting accuracy, and four minutes later Moyer's three-pointer and free throw gave HSU a 17-16 lead.

The largest advantage held by either team early on was four points, both the Wildcats and the Jacks managing that edge. They traded leads before Olajuwon Jones hit a three-pointer to give Chico another four-point lead, but Ward drove for a short jumper to pull closer.

HSU earned the game's sixth tie when Will Sheufelt went coast-to-coast for a layup, but Erickson ripped a three-pointer on the next trip down the floor to put the Wildcats back on top. That lead lasted exactly nine seconds, disappearing when Moyer matched the effort with a three of his own to send the teams into halftime knotted at 33-33.

Early in the second half, the Jacks started to build a lead, moving up by seven points on two occasions. Vandermeer worked hard on both ends of the floor, blocking shots on defense, scoring putbacks on offense and rebounding on both ends of the floor.

Trailing 46-39, Chico State made its first big move of the second half, scoring seven straight points . Justin Argenal drove for a layup and hit a free throw to tie the game again, 46-46 with 12:10 remaining in the game.

At that point, Peal took over in the paint, scoring on consecutive possessions with strong moves to the hoop. Peal was fouled both times, hitting both free throws to give the Jacks a six-point lead.

Johnson and Peal continued to make the difference down low, leading the Jacks through a 18-4 run that provided them with a 64-50 lead.

Humboldt State returns to action at home Thursday, looking to avenge a loss suffered earlier this season to Cal Poly Pomona.

Chico State vs Humboldt State
1/27/07 7:30 p.m. at Arcata, Calif.
HUMBOLDT STATE 74, CHICO STATE 56
CHICO STATE (6-11, 4-8 CCAA)
BOCIAN, Andy 6-16 2-4 14; IGBEKOYI, Frank 4-6 3-5 11; ERICKSON, Brian 4-9 0-0 10; JONES, Olajuwon 2-5 0-0 6; STOCKHAMMER, Michael 3-7 0-0 6; ARGENAL, Justin 1-5 1-1 3; HARRIS, Travis 1-1 0-0 2; SMITH, Ryan 0-0 2-2 2; SLIGH, Brandon 1-2 0-0 2; FERRIN, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0; ASH, Robert 0-0 0-0 0; BRADLEY, Shane 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 8-12 56.
HUMBOLDT STATE (14-3, 9-3 CCAA)
PEAL, Devin 6-11 5-7 17; JOHNSON, Kevin 3-9 8-8 15; MOYER, Grayson 4-9 2-4 14; WARD, Jeremiah 5-9 0-0 10; VANDERMEER, Cy 5-6 0-1 10; SHEUFELT, Will 2-6 3-4 7; BURNS, Tyler 0-0 1-2 1; MASON, Colin 0-0 0-0 0; CORRAL, Carlos 0-1 0-0 0; KEHRIG, Michael 0-0 0-0 0; DEL RIO, Efren 0-0 0-0 0; FLAGGS, Antonio 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 19-26 74.
Chico State...................   33   23  -   56
Humboldt State................   33   41  -   74
3-point goals-Chico State 4-22 (JONES, Olajuwon 2-5; ERICKSON, Brian 2-6; STOCKHAMMER, Michael 0-3; ARGENAL, Justin 0-3; SLIGH, Brandon 0-1; BOCIAN, Andy 0-4), Humboldt State 5-17 (MOYER, Grayson 4-6; JOHNSON, Kevin 1-4; SHEUFELT, Will 0-3; CORRAL, Carlos 0-1; FLAGGS, Antonio 0-1; WARD, Jeremiah 0-2). Fouled out--Chico State-SLIGH, Brandon, Humboldt State-None. Rebounds-Chico State 30 (BOCIAN, Andy 6; SLIGH, Brandon 6), Humboldt State 30 (VANDERMEER, Cy 9). Assists-Chico State 15 (ARGENAL, Justin 7), Humboldt State 14 (SHEUFELT, Will 6). Total fouls-Chico State 24, Humboldt State 11. A-1400

###