ARCATA — Humboldt State stepped up the defensive pressure, holding the Argonauts to only 11 second-half points in a 78-40 win in Saturday's finale of the DeBeni Holiday Classic.

Tournament Most Valuable Player Brian Morris scored a team and season-high 23 points, shooting 11 of 15 from the field. Also earning all-tournament selection for HSU was Kevin Atkins, who finished with nine points while hustling his way to three steals.

For the second straight night the Jacks kept an opponent on the ropes by employing fresh bodies frequently. No Lumberjack played more than half the game, and 11 players saw double digits in minutes played.

That didn't stop the Argonauts in the game's early stages. All-tournament selection Chris Silzer helped them grab an early lead, a 61-percent shooting effort helping NDNU trail by only four at 33-29 at halftime.

The second half saw a completely opposite result. Hitting only two field goals the entire period, the Argonauts struggled to 11-percent shooting, finishing 36 percent for the game.

"Our consistent pressure took a toll," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "Even when we didn't get a turnover, we were forcing them to work hard. That constant, sustained defense wore them out."

Also scoring in double figures for Humboldt State was Zac Tiedeman with 12 points. David Broome came up with three steals for the Jacks.

Silzer paced NDNU with seven points. Nick Storment, Cheynne Lishman and Jeff Berridge each had six for the Argonauts, who dropped to 1-9 on the season.

Humboldt State takes a 5-3 overall record and 2-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association mark into Tuesday's game against Sonoma State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Rohnert Park, with the broadcast on KATA 1340 AM starting at 6:45 p.m.

Notre Dame de Namur vs Humboldt State
12/19/09 7:30 pm at Arcata, Calif.
At Arcata, Calif.
HUMBOLDT STATE 78, NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR 40
NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR (1-9)
Silzer, Chris 2-3 2-2 7; Berridge, Jeff 2-4 0-0 6; Lishman, Cheynne 2-9 0-0
6; Storment, Nick 3-5 0-0 6; Murray, Bennie 2-6 1-2 5; Pyrol, Jeff 2-3 0-0
4; Henwood, Trent 0-1 3-4 3; Hightower, Marcus 0-1 2-4 2; Raj, Alex 0-0 1-2
1; Hayes, Andre 0-1 0-0 0; Funkhouser, John 0-1 0-0 0; Malloy, Joshua 0-2
0-2 0. Totals 13-36 9-16 40.
HUMBOLDT STATE (5-3)
MORRIS, Brian 11-15 1-1 23; TIEDEMAN, Zac 3-6 3-3 12; ATKINS, Kevin 3-8 3-4
9; BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 2-5 0-2 6; DAVIS, Keith 3-5 0-0 6; PETTY, Will 1-2
2-2 5; BROOME, David 2-2 0-0 4; MATHEWS, Colt 1-3 2-2 4; KEHRIG, Mike 1-2
1-2 3; BAXTER, Kyle 1-1 0-0 2; SPADA, Ernie 0-3 2-2 2; BUCHANAN, Derrick 0-3
2-2 2; HOWARD, David 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 16-20 78.
Notre Dame de Namur...........   29   11  -   40
Humboldt State................   33   45  -   78
3-point goals--Notre Dame de Namur 5-15 (Berridge, Jeff 2-4; Lishman,
Cheynne 2-7; Silzer, Chris 1-1; Funkhouser, John 0-1; Malloy, Joshua 0-1;
Murray, Bennie 0-1), Humboldt State 6-22 (TIEDEMAN, Zac 3-6; BABCOCK-KRENK,
Ellio 2-4; PETTY, Will 1-2; MATHEWS, Colt 0-1; KEHRIG, Mike 0-1; SPADA,
Ernie 0-3; DAVIS, Keith 0-2; ATKINS, Kevin 0-3). Fouled out--Notre Dame de
Namur-None, Humboldt State-None. Rebounds--Notre Dame de Namur 23 (Silzer,
Chris 3; Murray, Bennie 3; Storment, Nick 3), Humboldt State 35 (MORRIS,
Brian 6). Assists--Notre Dame de Namur 6 (Murray, Bennie 2), Humboldt State
17 (BAXTER, Kyle 3; PETTY, Will 3; BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 3). Total
fouls--Notre Dame de Namur 14, Humboldt State 18. Technical fouls--Notre
Dame de Namur-None, Humboldt State-None. A-950