ARCATA — What has proven to be the toughest trip in the California Collegiate Athletic Association is up next for Humboldt State's Lumberjacks, who make a two-game swing through Southern California for league games this weekend.
In its fourth year in the conference, HSU had yet to defeat either Cal State San Bernardino or Cal Poly Pomona in its respective home gym. The closest the Jacks have come was an 85-84 loss in overtime to CSUSB last season.
Friday the Jacks get a chance to turn that trend around when they face the CSUSB Coyotes at 7:30 p.m. in Coussoulis Arena. On Saturday, Humboldt State matches up against Cal Poly Pomona in the Broncos' home gym at the same 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 CSUSB stats feature at http://www.sidearmstats.com/csusb/mbball/xlive.htm and this week's game at Pomona can be followed through the Broncos' web site at ttp://www.csupomona.edu/~athletic/Teams/livestats/XLIVE.HTM.
Head-to-Head
Cal State San Bernardino leads the Lumberjacks, 10-3 in the all-time series after sweeping both games from HSU last season. The Jacks split their season series with Cal Poly Pomona in 2008-09, and are now 7-9 overall vs. the Broncos.
Projected Starters
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.
G - #34 Elliot Babcock-Krenk, 6-3, 205, So, Lake Oswego, Ore.
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
Humboldt State's string of blowout victories was stopped at four Sunday, but its overall winning streak was extended to five with a 62-61 win over San Francisco State. That victory, coupled with the Jacks' win over CSU Monterey Bay the previous evening and some help from around the league, left HSU on top of the CCAA standings with a 5-1 record in league games. Chico State, Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona and CSU San Bernardino are locked in a tie for second at 3-1. …Humboldt's winning streak has coincided with a return to the "platoon" system that is geared towards maintaining a high-intensity effort and keeping fresh bodies on the court. In the past five games, the Jacks have held opponents to 41 percent shooting from the field and 27 perecent from three-point range. They've also forced 101 turnovers, an average of 20 per game. Also during the stretch, senior point guard Zac Tiedeman is averaging the most minutes played with only 21.6 per game. …The New Year's holiday forced Saturday and Sunday games, leaving HSU with a stretch of four games in seven days. "It's a fast turnaround, but we're on break, so we can just sleep, eat and play basketball," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. …Humboldt State leads the CCAA in scoring with an average of 75.5 points per game, scoring margin with a +13.5 average, and turnover margin at +5.45. …Individually, the balanced court time has caused HSU to sacrifice potential category leaders in favor of team success. However, Will Petty still ranks second in three-point percentage at .500, Zac Tiedeman is second in assists/turnover ratio at 2.5, and Brian Morris is second in league in offensive rebounding at 2.8 per game.
Opponents' Notes
Cal State San Bernardino began the 2010 portion of the season with a split on the road last week. After picking up an 85-74 win at Chico State, the Coyotes were upended by Cal State Stanislaus, 70-68. the bring a 5-3 overall record and 3-1 CCAA mark into the week.…Leading the Coyotes in scoring is 6-8 senior forward Brian LeDuc, who averages 14.9 points per game. Aaron Hill, a junior guard, and Lawrence Tyson, a senior guard, are also scoring in double figures at 13.4 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. …Seeing significant playing time for the Coyotes this year is former HSU player David Jefferson, who as a freshman with the Jacks two years ago. Jefferson spent his sophomore season at Imperial Valley College. … Ranked No. 14 in the most recent national poll, Cal Poly Pomona posted a split last week, narrowly defeating Cal State Stanislaus, 51-50, before falling to Chico State, 72-70 in overtime. The Broncos are 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in the CCAA. …Following the graduation of last year's CCAA Player of the Year, Larry Gordon, senior guard Austin Swift has taken up the bulk of the offensive chores for CPP. Swift is averaging 15.0 points per game, and has hit 44 percent of his three-point attempts. Donelle Booker, a 6-5 junior forward, averaged 9.9 points per game and leads his team in rebounding with 6.7 rpg average.
Wood's Words
" (CSU) San Bernardino is very athletic, which is typical for them, with a good inside game and guys who can shoot outside and penetrate. They play awfully good defense. You have to be aggressive with the ball, and try to get to the foul line." … "Cal Poly Pomona plays the same style of basketball that took them to the championshisp game last year. They are extremely tough on defense. If you look at the CCAA stats you see they are on the top in every rebounding category." …"We've been doing a great job of playing fullcourt, playing 90 feet. We do a good job of picking up teams, and they aren't scoring a lot on us. We still need to rebound better. Those areas we need to continuing to focus on reflect toughness."
