ARCATA — Settling into a brand new home is always exciting, and moving into the recently completed Lumberjack Arena is definitely a step up into an exclusive neighborhood. Following three games scheduled over the next six days in their new facility, the Lumberjack men's basketball players and their faithful following should all be quite comfortable with the change of surroundings.

Humboldt State hopes to break in its new court with a win Tuesday when Southern Oregon visits for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. On Saturday, Simpson University visits Arcata for a game with the same start time, and Monday's contest against William Jessup University is likewise scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.

On-the-Air: All Lumberjack basketball games are broadcast live locally on KATA, 1340 AM, the North Coast's ESPN radio affiliate. Because of scheduling conflicts with the Jacks' football finale, Saturday's basketball game will move up the dial to 1480 AM. Webcasts are also available for out-of-area listeners, accessed through the Humboldt State Athletics site at hsujacks.com. …Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers is back for another year of bring home the action from courtside for all home contests. He'll be joined by Humboldt State Athletics Hall-of-Famer Burt Nordstrom. On the road, Assistant Athletic Director Dan Pambianco provides play-by-play. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game time with the pregame show.

Coaches Show: For insight on the Jacks' basketball program and information on all of Humboldt State's athletics activities, catch "Humboldt State Tonight" on Fox Channel 2 local cable television at 6 p.m. Thursdays. J.B. Mathers hosts the show, which features interviews with Coach Tom Wood, student-athletes, and other HSU Athletics staff members.

Head-to-Head: One of HSU's most consistent opponents over the years, its still been awhile since the Jacks met the Raiders. Humboldt State leads the all-time series, 74-61, including a 115-59 win in the most recent meeting in 2003.…Humboldt State had won all four of its meetings with Simpson University. …Monday marks the first-ever game between HSU and William Jessup.

Lumberjack Notes: An earlier than usual start to the season has provided the HSU coaching staff some time to reflect and assess since the Jacks' debut at Disney West Coast Classic nearly two weeks ago. Mixed results at that event have kept the coaches busy, trying to find the right on-court combination of players and to step up the learning curve. "We need to execute better, and to learn to play inside-out and feed the post," Wood said. "We've worked hard the last five or six practices on getting comfortable with each other and with the way we're trying to play." …While still getting acquainted with his crew, its not surprise that Wood is spreading the playing time around. Ten of the 12 that saw the court at the Disney event are averaging in double digits minutes played, and the other two are at around nine minutes each. …Still to see the court is redshirt freshman Will Petty, who was kept out of early action because of an injured elbow. He's expected to make his HSU debut Tuesday. …Senior guard Efren Del Rio is recovering rapidly from the knee surgery he underwent just over two weeks ago, and the coaching and training staff hope to have him ready to go by December. … Two Jacks' freshmen are scoring in double digits in the early going, Kyle Baxter averaging 11.3 points per game and David Howard 10.3. Jameson Figgatt is the top rebounder with 5.7 per game, while Zac Tiedeman has team-highs of nine assists and five steals.

Opponents Notes: Southern Oregon is off to a 1-1 start, claiming a 76-60 win over Pacific Union College and losing to Dominican University, 68-66. Both of the losses were during a season-opening road trip to the California on the first weekend of November. …Eli Thornton and Jarrad Childs have been the Raiders' most prolific scorers thus far with averages of 13.5 and 12 points per game, respectively. As a team, the Raiders are out-rebounding opponents, 43-40, executing a facet of the game the Jacks have struggled with thus far. …Saturday's opponent, Simpson University, is the Lumberjacks' closest, geographically. The private Redding school's basketball program last visited Aracata during the 2000-01 season, heading back over the mountains following a 117-61 beating. …Junior guard Justin Sparks averages 106 points per game and junior forward Dwight Bond contributes 10.2. …Simpson is off to a tough 0-5 start, losing its last three games at home. …The Red Hawks are coached by former Lumberjack standout Cary Williams, who was one of the Jacks' top players during the 97-98 and 98-99 seasons. …William Jessup, located in Rocklin, Calif., and a member of the NAIA Cal Pac Conference, is off to a 2-4 start.  …The Warriors are led in scoring by senior Zach Sowers, who is averaging 19 points per game. The guard from Zanesville, Ohio, was named Cal Pac Player of the Week for his performance at the Warrior Classic Tournament.

Wood's Words: "Southern Oregon is a team that plays with passion, and wants to penetrate and get to the basket. That's a style that has presented problems for us." … "I don't know a lot about Simpson, except that they don't have a lot of depth. They do have some shooters who can get hot and hurt you." … "I'm sure our players are excited about playing at home this week. The newcomers have heard what its like to play in front of our fans, and they're anxious to experience that. They'll probably be nervous for a little while, but after the first two or three passes that will be out of the way."

Roster: Humboldt State's roster is available online at the following link - http://hsujacks.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball&

Statistics: Season statistics and individual game boxscores can be found at the following web link - http://hsujacks.com/custompages/mbball/2008/teamstat.htm?path=mbball