CHICO — Finding ways to win again in the waning minutes, Humboldt State prevailed over Chico State, 65-61 for an important road victory in California Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball Friday.

Shuttling in fresh players throughout the game, Humboldt State wore down the Wildcats, with 13 players again seeing significant playing time. Zac Tiedeman led the way with 14 points, Ernie Spada added 11, and David Broome dished five assists and came up with two steals to fuel HSU's efforts.

"It was a team effort again, with 13 guys playing hard," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "There many times when I looked out there and saw fresh guys playing hard, and that's pretty powerful."

With the victory, HSU improved to 11-4 overall and is now 4-1 in league contests. Chico State lost for the first time at home this season, dropping to 4-8 overall and 1-4 in the CCAA.

Andy Bocian led the Wildcats with 19 points, and Roderick Hawkins finished with 10 points. Junior Russell contributed nine points while also dishing a game-high seven assists.

Tiedeman pulled the quick trigger on a three-pointer, giving HSU its first lead of the game at 16-15 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. David Howard rose to block Justin Argenal's attempt to answer at the other end, and Tiedeman made a two-point jumper to increase the lead.

HSU used its frequent substitutions to increase its lead, with Broome initiating a fast break against a winded Chico unit. Racing down the court, Broome dished to Spada in the corner, and the sophmore nailed a three-pointer to provide the Jacks with their largest lead at 35-25.

Chico State surged back in the final 1:20 of the first half, however, finishing it when Russell dished to Nick Lonnegren for a layup. That score allowed the Wildcats to take momentum into the halftime lockerroom, trailing only 35-31.

Neither team could break the other in the early moments of the second half, but the Jacks did manage to keep the lead. Jameson Figgatt stepped up defensively, blocking Chico State shot attempts on consecutive possessions to hold HSU's advantage at 46-40.

Hawkins fed Bocian for a layup, cutting the lead to three points. Broome broke loose, feeding Spada again for a three-pointer made it 56-50, but still the Lumberjacks couldn't shake the Wildcats.

Russell forced the issue, penetrating for a layin that cut the lead to 60-58. Shortly after a timeout,  Bocian hit a three-pointer from behind a screen at the top of the key to put his team back in front.

Tiedeman stole a pass on the inbounds, and pulled up for a short jumper that was swatted down. Goaltending was the result, moving HSU back in front.

Chico State had two more opportunites to score in the final minute, but HSU rose to the task defensively on both occasions. On the first chance, Tiedeman kept Russell from a clear shot, then rebounded the miss. He was immediately fouled, and the junior transfer hit both free throws to give the Jacks a four-point lead.

Humboldt State vs Chico State
01/09/09 7:30 at Chico, Calif.
At Chico, Calif.
HUMBOLDT STATE 65, CHICO STATE 61
HUMBOLDT STATE (11-4 (4-1 CCAA))
TIEDEMAN, Zac 3-4 7-8 14; SPADA, Ernie 4-6 0-0 11; ATKINS, Kevin 2-5 3-3 7;
HOWARD, David 2-4 2-2 6; MATHEWS, Colt 2-4 0-0 5; PETTY, Will 2-3 0-1 5;
BABCOCK-KRENK, E. 2-3 1-1 5; FIGGATT, Jameson 2-2 0-0 4; BAXTER, Kyle 1-4
0-1 2; DAVIS, Keith 1-1 0-0 2; BROOME, David 1-1 0-1 2; KEHRIG, Mike 1-3 0-0
2; NEWMAN, Owen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-41 13-17 65.
CHICO STATE (4-8 (1-4 CCAA))
BOCIAN, Andy 7-16 2-3 19; HAWKINS, Roderick 2-2 6-8 10; RUSSELL, Junior 3-7
3-4 9; ARGENAL, Justin 3-8 1-1 8; GRAVES, Zach 3-5 2-4 8; LONNEGREN, Nick
2-10 0-0 5; SHARP, Chris 1-5 0-0 2; JACKSON, Josh 0-0 0-0 0; SUMLIN,
LaCurtis 0-1 0-0 0; MILLER, Canyon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 14-20 61.
Humboldt State................   35   30  -   65
Chico State...................   31   30  -   61
3-point goals--Humboldt State 6-14 (SPADA, Ernie 3-5; TIEDEMAN, Zac 1-1;
PETTY, Will 1-2; MATHEWS, Colt 1-2; BAXTER, Kyle 0-1; HOWARD, David 0-2;
ATKINS, Kevin 0-1), Chico State 5-21 (BOCIAN, Andy 3-6; ARGENAL, Justin 1-6;
LONNEGREN, Nick 1-7; SHARP, Chris 0-1; RUSSELL, Junior 0-1). Fouled
out--Humboldt State-None, Chico State-None. Rebounds--Humboldt State 30
(BAXTER, Kyle 5), Chico State 27 (BOCIAN, Andy 7). Assists--Humboldt State
10 (BROOME, David 5), Chico State 12 (RUSSELL, Junior 7). Total
fouls--Humboldt State 20, Chico State 20. Technical fouls--Humboldt
State-None, Chico State-None. A-1015