SAN FRANCISCO — Humboldt State's hopes for a road sweep came unraveled quickly Saturday when San Francisco State utilized a quick start at the beginning of both halfs on the way to a 71-63 win over the Lumberjacks.

HSU slipped to 17-7 overall and 10-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, relinquishing the league's top spot to Cal State San Bernardino. San Francisco State improved to 12-9 overall and 6-8 in the CCAA.

Owen Newman led a Lumberjack charge that whittled a once 18-point lead down to five points inside of two minutes remaining. Robert Hayes preserved the win, however, driving for two layups and hitting a pair of free throws in the waning seconds.

Alex Thomas caught fire early for the Gators, finishing the game with 25 points to lead all scorers. Hayes added 18 points for San Francisco State.

Newman finished with a career-high 16 points to pace the Lumberjacks, Jameson Figgatt scored 15 and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, while Kevin Atkins contributed 12 points for HSU.

San Francisco State found its touch early in the game, gaining a 5-0 lead on Thomas'  three-pointer.  Thomas' runner extended it and his second three-pointer made it 10-0.

Figgatt finally broke HSU's drought with a putback at the 15-minute mark.  But Thomas kept his solo-show going, hitting from NBA range to reestablish a 10-point lead.

San Francisco State forged ahead by as many as 13 points, Humboldt State only able to get the lead down as close seven the remainder of the period The basket remained sealed for the Jacks, who managed to convert only 21 percent of their shots in the opening half on the way to a 34-24 deficit.
O'Rourke's three-pointer made it 42-28, and Thomas drained a three from the corner to extend the margin to 45-28.

Humboldt State slowly worked the lead down to 11 points, going inside to Newman, who rewarded them with five straight points. But Hayes it a three-pointer' pushed it up to 16 points.

Another HSU comeback effort brought the margin down to nine points, but again it was Thomas answering with a three-pointer. On the next possession, a missed three-pointer by the Gators was converted into two when Darryl Robinson grabbed the rebound and slammed it home.

Newman took control of the paint, and his teammates recognized his efforts by repeatedly feeding the Jacks' big man. He responded with three straight layups, adding a free throw to pull HSU within seven.

Up next for the Lumberjacks are home games against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday and Chico State on Saturday. Both contests tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena.


Humboldt State vs San Francisco State
02/07/09 7:30 p.m. at San Francisco, Calif.(Main Gymnasium)
At San Francisco, Calif.(Main Gymnasium)
SAN FRANCISCO STATE 71, HUMBOLDT STATE 63
HUMBOLDT STATE (17-7, 10-4 CCAA)
NEWMAN, Owen 5-7 6-8 16; FIGGATT, Jameson 7-12 1-2 15; ATKINS, Kevin 3-8 6-6
12; TIEDEMAN, Zac 1-4 2-2 5; BAXTER, Kyle 1-9 2-2 4; DAVIS, Keith 0-0 4-4 4;
SPADA, Ernie 1-8 0-0 3; KEHRIG, Mike 1-2 0-0 2; BABCOCK-KRENK, E. 0-2 2-2 2;
MATHEWS, Colt 0-1 0-0 0; HOWARD, David 0-2 0-0 0; PETTY, Will 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 19-55 23-26 63.
SAN FRANCISCO STATE (12-9, 6-8 CCAA)
THOMAS, Alex 8-17 3-4 25; HAYES, Robert 6-16 6-8 20; VISMAN, Brad 3-5 3-4 9;
FLORES, Martin 3-5 0-0 6; O'ROURKE, Phoenix 1-6 0-0 3; FLETCHER, Derek 1-1
0-0 2; WESSELS, Ryan 1-2 0-0 2; LOGAN, Will 1-4 0-1 2; ROBINSON, Darryl 1-6
0-0 2; CAPELLINO, Vince 0-0 0-0 0; TRAMMEL, Daniel 0-0 0-0 0; BULLARD,
Tyrone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 12-17 71.
Humboldt State................   24   39  -   63
San Francisco State...........   34   37  -   71
3-point goals--Humboldt State 2-15 (TIEDEMAN, Zac 1-2; SPADA, Ernie 1-4;
ATKINS, Kevin 0-1; BAXTER, Kyle 0-3; KEHRIG, Mike 0-1; BABCOCK-KRENK, E.
0-2; MATHEWS, Colt 0-1; HOWARD, David 0-1), San Francisco State 9-29
(THOMAS, Alex 6-11; HAYES, Robert 2-8; O'ROURKE, Phoenix 1-6; ROBINSON,
Darryl 0-4). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, San Francisco State-None.
Rebounds--Humboldt State 40 (FIGGATT, Jameson 10), San Francisco State 38
(FLORES, Martin 9). Assists--Humboldt State 12 (TIEDEMAN, Zac 5), San
Francisco State 16 (THOMAS, Alex 3; VISMAN, Brad 3). Total fouls--Humboldt
State 16, San Francisco State 21. Technical fouls--Humboldt State-None, San
Francisco State-None. A-888