SEATTLE — Finding its elusive rhythm in the second half, the Humboldt State men's basketball team raced away from Saint Martin's University to earn a 87-69 win at the Elgin Baylor Classic on Saturday.

With four of his five starters in foul trouble, Coach Tom Wood had to reach deep into his bench for playing time and inspiration to help the Jacks bounce back from Friday's loss to host Seattle University in the season-opener.  It took a 20 minutes to find themselves, however, as they struggled through a 38 percent shooting performance in the opening half before hitting at a 61 percent clip in the second period.

Trailing by four points at halftime, the Jacks pounded the ball inside to Cy Vandermeer and Devin Peal early in the second half to forge a four-point lead. But when both Peal and Vandermeer picked up their third fouls, and with Nick Green already saddled with four, Wood inserted Jameson Figgatt, whose decision-making, defense and energy kept the Jacks in charge.

During an eight-minute span, Figgatt helped HSU build a 14-point lead, working the inside and passing it back out to open shooters like Grayson Moyer, Will Sheufelt and Ernie Spada, all of whom hit three-pointers during an 11-2 HSU run.

Moyer was a consistent force all night for HSU, scoring a game-high 27 points while grabbing six rebounds. He also topped the team with five assists and four steals.

Vandermeer added 17 points and Peal scored 16, all in the second half, to fuel the Jacks to their first victory of 2007-08. That pair also led HSU in rebounding with eight each.

Bill Richardson scored 14 points for the Saints, as did Jake Linton. Finishing 0-9 from the field, Linton benefitted the most from a one-sided foul advantage, hitting all 14 of his free throw attempts. The Saints were whistled for only 14 fouls while HSU racked up 28, SMU hitting 33 of 37 free throws to HSU's 12-16.

Early in the game, the Lumberjacks crashed the boards, providing themselves with second opportunities. Poor shooting left them unrewarded at the onset, but they managed to fashion a 7-2 lead anyway.

Back-to-back baskets by Green helped the Lumberjacks open a 16-6 lead, but they couldn't shake the Saints. Saint Martin's found its' way inside for a basket by Michael McIver and a putback by Blake Poole cut HSU's lead to two points.

The Jacks stretched the lead to six points again on a jump shot by Everett Smith, briefly providing some distance before SMU charged back, going inside to Poole and McIver, earning free throw shots on most occasions.

The Saints continued to break the Jacks' press, Justin Alexander finding McIver on a two-on-one to cut the lead to 24-23.  Linton hit two free throws to give the Saints a 25-24 lead with 4:40 to go in the first half, and the teams briefly traded leads before the Saints surged again.

Saint Martin's took a five-point advantage when Linton hit two more free throws, giving him eight in the first half. As the half wound down, a steal and layin by Tyler Nixon provided SMU's largest lead at seven points before Moyer's three-pointer at the buzzer cut it to a 39-35 deficit at halftime.

Humboldt State returns to Arcata for its home-opener this week, hosting Southern Oregon at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the East Gym.

Newspaper Box Score
Saint Martin's vs Humboldt State
11-17-07 5:10 PM at Seattle, Wash. (Connolly Center)
At Seattle, Wash. (Connolly Center)
HUMBOLDT STATE 87, SAINT MARTIN'S 69
SAINT MARTIN'S (1-1)
Linton,Jake 0-9 14-14 14; Richardson,Bill 6-8 2-4 14; Campbell,Brendan 4-13
4-6 12; Poole,Blake 3-5 3-3 9; Nixon,Tyler 1-5 6-6 8; McIver,Michael 4-7 0-0
8; Squiers,Galen 0-1 2-2 2; Ognoskie,Mike 0-0 2-2 2; Smith,Kyle 0-0 0-0 0;
Smith,Nick 0-1 0-0 0; Severs,Charlie 0-0 0-0 0; Alexander,Justin 0-3 0-0 0.
Totals 18-52 33-37 69.
HUMBOLDT STATE (1-1)
MOYER, Grayson 9-14 5-5 27; VANDERMEER, Cy 6-11 4-4 17; PEAL, Devin 8-13 0-0
16; SHEUFELT, Will 3-6 1-2 9; SPADA, Ernie 2-8 0-0 6; FIGGATT, Jameson 2-2
0-1 4; GREEN, Nick 2-4 0-0 4; KEHRIG, Mike 1-1 1-2 3; BURNS, Tyler 0-2 1-2
1; GIVENS, James 0-1 0-0 0; SMITH, Everett 0-3 0-0 0; JEFFERSON, David 0-0
0-0 0; CORRAL, Carlos 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 33-67 12-16 87.
Saint Martin's................   39   30  -   69
Humboldt State................   35   52  -   87
3-point goals--Saint Martin's 0-12 (Linton,Jake 0-5; Campbell,Brendan 0-2;
Poole,Blake 0-1; Nixon,Tyler 0-1; Squiers,Galen 0-1; Smith,Nick 0-1;
Alexander,Justin 0-1), Humboldt State 9-18 (MOYER, Grayson 4-6; SHEUFELT,
Will 2-3; SPADA, Ernie 2-5; VANDERMEER, Cy 1-2; SMITH, Everett 0-1; CORRAL,
Carlos 0-1). Fouled out--Saint Martin's-None, Humboldt State-SHEUFELT, Will.
Rebounds--Saint Martin's 35 (Nixon,Tyler 7), Humboldt State 37 (VANDERMEER,
Cy 8; PEAL, Devin 8). Assists--Saint Martin's 6 (Linton,Jake 2;
Alexander,Justin 2), Humboldt State 13 (MOYER, Grayson 5). Total
fouls--Saint Martin's 14, Humboldt State 28. Technical fouls--Saint
Martin's-None, Humboldt State-TEAM. A-545
Game Three of Elgin Baylor Classic