ARCATA — Back from a brief break, Coach Tom Wood's team hits the hard court this week in preparation for Friday's and Saturday's home games in Lumberjack Arena. Humboldt State hosts San Francisco State on Friday and welcomes Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday as California Collegiate Athletic Association action resumes.

Humboldt State begins the week with an 8-4 record, and is 1-1 in league following early December's CCAA contests. San Francisco State is off to a great start, standing 8-1 overall and 2-0 in league, while Cal Stat Monterey Bay matches that record both in all games and CCAA contests.

On-the-Air: All Lumberjack basketball games are broadcast live locally on KATA, 1340 AM, the North Coast's ESPN radio affiliate.  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.

Live Stats: Follow the action from your home computer by accessing the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Home games are linked at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/mbball/. 

Head-to-Head: Since joining the CCAA two years ago, the Jacks are 4-0 against the Gators. S.F. State leads the all-time series, however, with 90 wins to HSU's 54. …Humboldt State ran its record to 9-0 over CSU Monterey Bay by claiming a pair of victories in 2007-08.

Lumberjack Notes: For a team laden with newcomers, the holiday break couldn't come soon enough. Most of the Jacks' six freshmen returned home for the first time since they left for college in August, but all were back in Arcata in time for Sunday evening's scheduled practice. …"I think that first semester was a lot to take in," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "Basketball-wise they had more thrown at them than they have in their whole high school careeer. But now they have a feel for the speed and the physical nature of the game. The break should let them come back with a renewed outlook on what they need to do."…Humboldt State will be anxious to get back on the winning track after losing its final game before the break to Western Oregon at the Jacks' own DeBeni Classic. "Losing made the time away seem longer," Wood said. "We left with some bruised egos. Losing also exposed some things that we aren't doing well, like our halfcourt defense and rebounding. We'll focus on that this week, but it just goes back to learning the physical nature of the game and how hard that is. We can expose them to it in practice, but they have to learn it in games." Named to the all-tournament team were HSU's David Howard and Zac Tiedeman. …Offensive production has been consistent for the Jacks, who are averaging 82.0 points per game. They've put up 298 three-pointers, making 106 for a .356 percentage, and have been good on more than 44 percent of their shots from the field. …Defense has been the issue, with the Jacks allowing opponents to hit more than 46 percent of their field goal attempts. HSU also continues to be outrebounded by an average of 5.0 boards per game. …As a team, the Jacks have done a good job of taking care of the ball with an average of just over 12 turnovers per game, which ranked HSU No. 8 among 270 schools in the latest NCAA statistical listings. …Jameson Figgatt was limited in the DeBeni Classic after breaking his nose in the early minutes of the first game. He played the remainder of that half against Simpson University before being held out by the training staff in the second half. Wearing a full-face protective mask, the senior returned to the Jacks' starting lineup the following day, but his effectiveness was limited.

Opponents Notes: San Francisco State is off to the program's best start since the 1952-53 season, its only loss thus far coming to then NAIA No. 4 ranked Concordia on Dec. 12 at the Gators' own tournament. They began CCAA play in early December with wins over Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State. …Pacing the Gators thus far are returning players Alex Thomas and Robert Hayes. Thomas leads the Gators with his 17.0 scoring average while Hayes is right behind him at 15.6. Hayes tops S.F. State with 22 steals and 29 assists. …Cal State Monterey Bay is likewise off to its best start in the program's short history, winning its first six games at home. The success is a continuation of last year's rise to prominence, when CSUMB finished with a all-time best 11 wins on the DII level, winning 10 of its last 11 league games. …Returning senior guard Steve Monreal is one of five players averaging in double figures, managing a team-best 18.3 points per game. Dante Green is scoring 12.0 ppg, and Joe Mitchell averaged 10.9 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game.

Wood's Words: "San Francisco State's record is not a fluke. They're the real deal. What I've seen on tape hasn't diminished that respect. They are a veteran team that has a number of guys who have been through the wars, which gives them an advantage. They also have good size and are physical. They pride themselves on their halfcourt defense, and they play hard. They're very goood defensively and they have a talented point guard. There isn't much not to like." …"I really like Monterey Bay. They have a team of playmakers. They all can make something happen and they've had some great wins this year. They aren't real tall, but they play tall. They're quick to the ball, and quick on the rebound. They have that all-important experience going for them."

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/m