ARCATA — Cal State Los Angeles cranked up the defense, limiting Humboldt State's shot selection while hitting the nets effectively itself on the way to a 76-63 victory in a California Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball game Thursday.

The loss, Humboldt State's third straight, hurts the Jacks' chances to host a first-round game in next week's CCAA Tournament. They remain tied for fourth with UC San Diego, who lost 60-57 to Chico State on Thursday, but a coin flip by the league office has already decided that HSU would travel if still tied with the Tritons following Friday's finale.

Along with holding the Jacks to 37 percent shooting from the field, the Golden Eagles hit 53 of their own shots and had four players score in double figures. Chris Mark led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Dwayne Jones had 15 points, Leland Jones scored 14 and Christofer Hart added 11. The Eagles improved to 12-13 overall and 7-12 in league.

Humboldt State dropped to 19-10 overall and is now 12-7 in the CCAA. Zac Tiedeman led HSU in scoring with 15 poitns while also dishing four assists, and Kevin Atkins finished with 10 points before fouling out.

"We're not playing inspired basketball right now," HSU head coach Tom Wood said."We haven't played that poorly at home in a long time, but we have to give credit to our opponents. They didn't let us play well."

Neither team led by more than four points throughout a tight first half, but a jumper by Leland Jones provided the widest gap at 32-28 just under a minute before the break. HSU answered with a pair of free throws by Tiedeman, and trailed 32-30 when the half ended.

Cal State Los Angeles moved up by seven points early in the second period when Mark broke free from a layup after taking a pass from Hart. Humboldt State worked the advantage down to three points on several occasions, but couldn't get any closer.

The Eagles grabbed a seven-point lead on Dwayne Jones' three-pointer with 5:22 left to play, and expanded it to as many as 14 points by scoring eight of their next 10 points from the free throw line.

Humboldt State faces league-leader CSU Dominguez Hills on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena. The Jacks will honor seniors Jameson Figgatt and Owen Newman prior to tip-off.