CHICO — (March 1) Pulling away behind its strong inside presence, Humboldt State earned at least a share of the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship with a 90-75 win over Chico State on Thursday.

Forsaking the three-pointer and working purely inside during the second half, the Jacks rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to earn the win and league crown in their first season as a member of the CCAA. They also earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II West Region Championships.

"We were two for 12 from the three-point line in the first half," Humboldt State head coach Tom Wood pointed out. "We said we needed to go back inside, because they didn't have a credible answer to our big men."

That's what his team did best down the stretch, pulling away by virtue of the consistent play of Devin Peal, who finished with 21 points, and Kevin Johnson, who had 18 with a game-high 14 rebounds. Balance was also key, with Jeremiah Ward (15), Grayson Moyer (14) and Will Sheufelt (12) all scoring in double digits.

With the win, Humboldt State improved to 23-3 overall and 18-3 in league heading into the final regular season game at Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday. Cal State San Bernardino could earn a tie for the league title with wins on Friday and Saturday and a Lumberjack loss.

Chico State was led by Jon Baird's 16 points and 12 each from Justin Argenal and Olajuwon Jones. The Wildcats fell to 7-19 overall and 5-16 in the CCAA.

Humboldt's efforts on the inside were rewarded early Saturday, Peal and Johnson finding room to work in the paint. Baird's four-point play on a three-pointer and foul shot kept the Wildcats close, however, as they trailed by only two at 12-10 six minutes into the game.

HSU threatened to expand its lead on a couple of occasions, one when Carlos Corral's three-pointer from the corner provided a five-point cushion. But Michael Stockhammer provided points off the bench for the Wildcats, knocking down two three-pointers to keep the game tight.

Humboldt State's defense stuttered, leaving Baird open for a baseline jumper and then allowing Argenal to bank home a 10-footer that cut the Jacks ' lead to one point. Baird;s  three-pointer from the top of the key bounced in to give the Wildcats their first lead at 39-37.

The Lumberjacks found Johnson inside, but Argenal drove for another layin and hit a pair of free throws to send Chico State into halftime with a 43-39 lead.

The Jacks started the second half quickly, a fast break from Sheufelt to Ward to Moyer putting them up again at  47-46. Physical play marked the second half, first favoring the Wildcats and later the Lumberjacks.

Humboldt State vs Chico State
03/01/07 7:40 p.m at Acker Gym - Chico, Calif.
At Acker Gym - Chico, Calif.
HUMBOLDT STATE 90, CHICO STATE 75
HUMBOLDT STATE (23-3, 18-3 CCAA)
PEAL, Devin 7-9 7-10 21; JOHNSON, Kevin 7-10 4-6 18; WARD, Jeremiah 5-15 5-6 15; MOYER, Grayson 5-8 3-5 14; SHEUFELT, Will 4-6 4-4 12; CORRAL, Carlos 2-3 0-0 5; VANDERMEER, Cy 1-2 0-0 2; BURNS, Tyler 1-1 0-0 2; FLAGGS, Antonio 0-0 1-2 1; WAY, Evan 0-0 0-0 0; KEHRIG, Michael 0-0 0-0 0; DEL RIO, Efren 0-2
0-0 0. Totals 32-56 24-33 90.
CHICO STATE (7-19, 5-16 CCAA)
BAIRD, Jon 6-12 1-1 16; JONES, Olajuwon 5-8 0-0 12; ARGENAL, Justin 4-12 4-4 12; IGBEKOYI, Frank 3-4 4-6 10; BOCIAN, Andy 5-14 0-0 10; STOCKHAMMER, Michael 3-6 0-0 8; SLIGH, Brandon 1-2 2-4 5; BRADLEY, Shane 1-1 0-0 2; HARRIS, Travis 0-0 0-0 0; ASH, Robert 0-1 0-0 0; ERICKSON, Brian 0-3 0-0 0; SMITH, Ryan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 11-15 75.
Humboldt State................   39   51  -   90
Chico State...................   43   32  -   75
3-point goals-Humboldt State 2-12 (CORRAL, Carlos 1-2; MOYER, Grayson 1-2; WARD, Jeremiah 0-3; SHEUFELT, Will 0-1; DEL RIO, Efren 0-2; JOHNSON, Kevin
0-2), Chico State 8-21 (BAIRD, Jon 3-7; STOCKHAMMER, Michael 2-2; JONES, Olajuwon 2-5; SLIGH, Brandon 1-1; ERICKSON, Brian 0-2; BOCIAN, Andy 0-1;
ARGENAL, Justin 0-3). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, Chico State-BOCIAN, Andy. Rebounds-Humboldt State 33 (JOHNSON, Kevin 14), Chico State 33 (SLIGH,
Brandon 8). Assists-Humboldt State 12 (SHEUFELT, Will 4), Chico State 14 (ARGENAL, Justin 6). Total fouls-Humboldt State 16, Chico State 23. A-1159 4th-ranked Humboldt State ended the game on a 25-12 run.

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