ARCATA — Motivating factors aren't hard to find when looking at the Lumberjacks' final two regular-season games. The contests' outcomes will go a long way toward deciding the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season champion, the CCAA tournament pairings, and the NCAA West Region rankings. If that's not enough, sending the Jacks' two seniors out in style should provide extra incentive for the Humboldt State men's basketball team.

"I'm certain that if you ask the young men in our program about why the picked Humboldt State, part of the reason would be our program's history of competing in big games," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "Well here we are, with big games to play and a lot to be decided."

The week also features a variation from the season scheduling format, with games on Thursday and Friday instead of the usual Friday-Saturday encounters. This deviation allows an extra day for those teams to travel and prepare for next Tuesday's league tournament opener.

Humboldt State welcomes Cal State Los Angeles to town for Thursday's 7:30 p.m. tip-off, then hosts the current league-leader, Cal State Dominguez Hills, at the same time Friday.

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: Fans can follow the action from Lumberjack Arena on their home computers by accessing the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Home games are linked at http://livestats.internetconsult.com/humboldt/mbball/.

Head-to-Head: Following a win on the road earlier this year, the Jacks stand 5-1 all-time against Cal State Los Angeles. Humboldt State dropped its previous game against Cal State Dominguez Hills, and comes in with a 5-2 mark in the series.

Rankings: Much will be decided in the final two weeks of play, and the outcome of last week's games will certainly mean a shift in this week's NCAA Division II West Region poll, scheduled to be released Wednesday. Last week's poll listed BYU Hawaii at No. 1, followed in order by Cal State Dominguez Hills, Western Washington, Cal Poly Pomona, Central Washington, Humboldt State, Seattle Pacific, Chaminade, St. Martin's and UC San Diego.

CCAA Seedings: Five teams still have a chance at earning a share of the CCAA regular season title, and those same five are competing to be one of the four teams that will host a first-round game. If Humboldt State and UC San Diego remain tied for the fourth spot and if both win out this week, a coin flip would determine the fourth host. Winners of next Tuesday's first round games will gather in San Bernardino for the semifinals on March 6 and championship game on March 7.

Lumberjack Notes: Regrets over the outcome of last week's games behind them, the Jacks turn their focus on preparation for two more tough games at home. They enter the week relatively healthy following a brief round of the flu-bug enduring last week. …Zac Tiedeman and Ernie Spada rank among the CCAA's statistical leaders, Tiedeman listed No. 1 in free throw shooting at 89 percent and No. 2 in three-point shooting at 46 percent. Spada is right behind Tiedeman in three-point shooting, listed third at 42 percent, and the sophomore is the league-leader in three-pointers made per game with 2.3. …As a team, the Jacks rank No. 1 in scoring offense with an average of 75.4 points per game, and No. 2 in assists with an average of 14.7 per game. Their assists/turnovers ratio is best in the CCAA at 1.1. …Seniors Jameson Figgatt and Owen Newman will be honored on Friday prior to their final regular-season game in front of the home crowd. …Newman joined the Lumberjacks for his senior season, transferring in from Southwest Baptist after two years at Lane Community College. His season highs include 16 points scored on Feb. 7 against San Francisco State and nine rebounds in the Jacks' win over Cal State Stanislaus on Feb. 13. "Owen has been as important as anybody in contributing to our success this season," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "He gives us the big, inside defensive presence, and when we get the ball to him on offense it forced the other team's defense to react. He's been a pleasant surprise after showing up literally the day before school started. He's also a terrific teammate who is good about supporting all of the other players. That's a quality that is important in setting an example for our younger players on how to act." …Jameson Figgatt finishes his two-year stint at Humboldt State on Friday. He transferred to HSU from Diablo Valley College and sat out a redshirt season before becoming a key player off the bench in 2008-08. Figgatt brought leadership to the court this season, and has started 23 of HSU's 28 games. His career-best marks include 16 points scored against CSU Monterey Bay last year, and 14 rebounds pulled down in Humboldt State's win over Sonoma State on Jan. 28, 2009. "Jameson epitomizes what it means to be a Lumberjack," Wood said. "He's the consummate warrior, who maximizes his abilities and never gives less than an all-out performance. Throughout his career he's had to go up against bigger players at the most physical position on the court. His work ethic in practice and games is unmatched, and he's never had an ego that prevented him from putting team first."

Opponents Notes: Cal State Los Angeles enters the week with an 11-14 overall record and is 6-12 in the CCAA. Four of the Eagles' league losses this year have been in overtime, including a 76-74 decision to Chico State last Friday. The Eagles bounced back to claim a 76-60 victory over Cal State Stanislaus the following night. …Chris Mark is CSLA's top scorer with an average of 10.9 points per game, and he also tops the team in rebounding with 7.4 boards per game. Christofer Hart averages 9.9 points, Dwayne Jones is at 9.3 and Artis Gant averages 9.1 points per game. Jones and Gant are the Eagles' primary threats from long range, with 27 and 21 three-pointers on the season, respectively. …Cal State Dominguez Hills leads the CCAA with a 14-4 conference record, and is 20-5 overall for 2008-09. The Toros have won six straight games since losing two on the same roadtrip HSU just finished. …Senior point guard Michael Hernandez is the Toros' go-to player, and he leads the team in scoring (12.8 points per game) and assists (102 total). Hernandez has also gotten to the free throw line 149 times, and has made 85 percent of his chances. …Jerrell Smith, a 6-9 senior center, is another major contributor, with 12. 6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Rodney Yearby, a 6-5 senior, averages 9.5 points per game.

Wood's Words: "(Cal State Los Angeles) takes advantage of its athleticism to give teams trouble. They put the ball on the floor and drive, and hit the offensive glass well. They have three or four weapons that can get hot on any given night." … "Going into this weekend, Cal State Dominguez Hills is obviously the best team in the conference. We can expect a championship-type game on Saturday," … "(Michael) Hernandez is their heart and soul, and as he goes, so does his team. Jerrell Smith is a big inside presence, and they have numerous weapons on the perimeter. They present a difficult matchup, and that's whey they're in first place."

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