ARCATA — The serious pursuit of a California Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball championship begins in earnest this week when Humboldt State travels to compete against two of its more northerly rivals. Because of the New Year's holiday, the games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday evenings.
Seaside is the Jacks' first destination. They'll face the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters (3-4, 1-1 CCAA) at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday as the latter half of a doubleheader that begins with the women's contest. Sunday's game pits HSU against San Francisco State (8-2, 1-1), also with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled start time.
On-the-Air
Every Lumberjack basketball game is broadcast live over the local airways on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time. Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action from Lumberjack Arena and HSU Assistant Athletic Director Dan Pambianco goes on the road with the Jacks. …Audio is also streamed live over the Internet through the hsujacks.com web site. The new UStream format allows an interactive chat between listeners during the webcast. The specific URL for access is located at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics.
Live Stats
All Lumberjack basketball home games can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Real time statistics, momentum tracker and other information are featured on the game viewer. The feature can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/mbball/. HSU's first game of the week can be tracked through the CSUMB stats feature at http://sports.csumb.edu/livestats and this week's game at SFSU can be followed through the Gators' web site at http://athletics.sfsu.edu/men/basketball/livestats/xlive.htm.
Head-to-Head
Up 11-0 in the all-time series, the Jacks survived two tight games to sweep the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters last year. …Humboldt State and San Francisco State split a pair of games last season, both teams winning on their home courts. Included was HSU's overtime win in Arcata, leaving the Jacks trailing the all-time series, 55-91.
Projected Starters
G - #4 Keith Davis, 6-3, 190, So., Long Beach, Calif.
G - #15 Mike Kehrig, 6-2, 195, Sr., Danville, Calif.
G - #22 Zac Tiedeman, 6-1, 180, Sr., Santa Rosa, Calif.
F - #23 Colt Mathews, 6-7, 205, Sr., Eureka, Calif.
F - #24 Kevin Atkins, 6-6, 220, Sr., Long Beach, Calif.
Lumberjack Links
Following are links to more information on the Lumberjack basketball program.
Complete Roster
Schedule
2009-10 Statistics
Lumberjack Notes
An entire week off of practice should refresh some legs, in the very least, by the time the Jacks returned to the court on Tuesday. Following a flurry that included three games in five days, plus the stress of final exams, the HSU coaching staff felt it appropriate to give the players an extended break. "It's been a long grind since we started practice," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "We've had some sickness and some injuries that got in the way of us establishing who we are. I think we've identified that heading into this important part of the season. All systems need to be go." …When last seen on the court, the Jacks were busy dispatching the Sonoma State Seawolves. They did so in a convincing fashion, pulling out to a 13-point halftime lead before burying SSU in the second half for a 96-55 win. In their last three games the Jacks have an average winning margin of 40 points. …The pre-holiday surge has lifted the Lumberjacks into the top spot in CCAA scoring with an average of 76.1 points per game. The Jacks' overall margin of victory has improved to 14.3 points per game, ranking them second in the league behind Cal Poly Pomona. HSU has also made more three-pointers than any other CCAA team - 75 - and ranks second in three-point field goal percentage at .357. …Individually, junior post Brian Morris ranks third in the CCAA in scoring (15.9) and field goal percentage (.640) despite averaging only 18.6 minutes per game in the eight games he has participated. Will Petty tops the league in three-point percentage, making 8 of 15 for a .533 mark. …Still out of action is freshman Matt Stover, who suffered a back injury before the break. The 6-5 post has made steady progress, and is expected to be back practicing with the team this week.
Opponent Notes
Cal State Monterey Bay is in its second season under coach Rob Bishop. The Otters have been successful at home, posting a 3-1 record, the only loss a 74-73 decision to Chico State. The Otters balance good size with good shooting, but count on guards Keith Wilson and Davion Berry as their top two scorers. Wilson, a 6-3 senior, is averaging 11.7 points per game and has made 14 of 27 three-pointers for 52 percent. Berry, a 6-3 freshman, averages 13.3 points per game, and has a team-leading 10 steals. …San Francisco State has posted impressive wins over tough opponents, including perennial power Kentucky Wesleyan. The Gators losses have been to Chico State and Western Washington. …Marquel Hoskins leads a very balanced Gator squad with an average of 13.1 points per game. Hoskins, a 5-10 junior, also leads his team with 47 assists, and is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game. …Playing for the Gators this season are two Humboldt County locals, Joshua Hash and Tim Pratt. Both are from Eureka, and transferred to SFSU after playing at College of the Redwoods. Hash, son of former HSU player and current College of the Redwoods Athetic Director Joe Hash, is averaging 1.8 points per game, while Pratt has started nine games and is averaging 7.7 points per game.
Wood's Words
"There are no carryovers on the (CSUMB) roster, so these are all Coach Bishop's players, which is a better situation for a coach. They are very athletic, they play hard, and they have good size. Besides that, they seem to be packing their gym, so people have recognized the potential." … "The Gators have some great wins among their totals. They did a nice job of replacing some key players from last year's team. Defense has been their focus this far, and they've been successful with it." … "We've learned that it is best for us to not be conservative. We need to play that chaotic style to get our game going, and buy some resting time. We have 13 or so guys that we're trying to mix and match in there to get that done."
