ARCATA — Thanksgiving week usually means a trip over the mountain for Humboldt State men's basketball, and that's where the Jacks are headed for a pair of games at the Mac Martin Tournament. Over the year the Lumberjacks have been frequent guests at the event hosted by Chico State, a tradition first-year head coach Steve Kinder is glad to continue.
Humboldt State opens the tournament at 5:30 p.m. Friday against Dominican University, a team out of the Pacific West Conference. The Lumberjacks are back on the court for Saturday's 5:30 p.m. tip-off against Northwest Christian.
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 and video are 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/.
Head-to-Head
Dominican University and HSU have met 12 times over the years, with the Jacks capturing every previous meeting. The most recent was a 106-52 Lumberjack victory in 2006-07. …It's been awhile since the Jacks and Northwest Christian have played, going back all the way to the 1979-80 season. On that occasion, HSU defeated the school from Portland, 57-50, taking a 6-0 lead in the all-time series. .
Head Coach Steve Kinder
The "Kinder Era" at HSU is off to a 2-0 start after a pair of home victories. After serving as the Jacks' No. 1 assistant for the past 20 seasons, Kinder took over for his mentor, Tom Wood, in 2010-11. As an assistant, he played critical roles in recruiting and coaching while helping the Jacks' 217-77 record achieved during the past decade. Kinder is a former HSU basketball player who was a member of the 1984-85 NCAC championship team. He previously served as a graduate assistant coach for the Lumberjacks (1986-88).
Projected Starters
G - #12 Ernie Spada, 5-11, Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore.
G - #4 Brandon Sperling, 6-3, Jr., Fresno
F - #15 Elliot Babcock-Krenk, 6-2, Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore.
F - #21 Kyle Baxter, 6-9, Jr., Sacramento
C - #32 Brian Morris, 6-9, Sr., Portland, Ore.
Lumberjack Notes
Two games into the 2010-11 season, the Lumberjacks are showing promise of continued success. In last week's 76-65 win over Menlo College, the Jacks found their shooting touch in the second half, hitting 51 percent of their field goal attempts in the period and controlling the pace of the game throughout. …Injuries and illness limited the Lumberjacks last week, but long term prognosis remains positive. Sophomore forward Derek Buchanan was slowed by respiratory issues, and sophomore Marcus Hall endured a leg injury. Also missing from the lineup was sophomore post Matt Lipski, who continues to be sidelined while awaiting the processing of eligibility paperwork. …Continuing to make progress is junior guad Scott Clark, who missed early workouts with an injury. Also impressing Kinder is junior point guard DJ Broome, who has come off the bench in the first two games to spark the Lumberjacks' lineup. Broome has hit his shots from the field, gotten to the free throw line and played solid defense. …Senior post Brian Morris and junior forward Randy Hunter have been a tough tandem on offense and on the boards. Hunter heads into the tournament averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Morris has put up 16.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per outing. …Free throw shooting was an area of excellence for last year's CCAA co-champion Lumberjacks, who made 72 percent of their chances from the line. This year's team looks equally adept, shooting 76 percent in the first two games. …Two years ago the Jacks earned the Mac Martin title with victories over St. Cloud State and UC Colorado Springs. …After returning from Chico, the Jacks have three days of practice before going on the road again – to Chico. They'll open California Collegiate Athletic Association play on Friday, Dec. 3 against Chico State, then travel to face Cal State Stanislaus the following day
Opponents' Notes
Two games into the 2010-11 season, the Dominican Penguins will seek their first win against the Lumberjacks on Friday. Both losses came at the Ron Logsdon Classic, hosted by Sonoma State last week. The Penguins dropped their opener, 64-51, to Minnesota State, then were steam-rolled by the host Seawolves, 95-64. …Averaging in double figures scoring for the Penguins are 6-5 guard Adam Chavez, at 14.0 points per game, and 6-10 post Killian Larson, who has put up 11.5 points per game. …Northwest Christian is off to a 2-2 start to the season, defeating Simpson University and California Baptist, and losing to Fresno Pacific and William Jessup. …Forward Kellen Spicer has been the Beacons' leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points per game. Senior guard Quentin Guidry is scoring 11.8 points per game thus far. …The Beacons have consistently out-rebounded opponents, Spicer leading the way with 7.5 boards per game.
Kinder's Quotes
"It's great to go to Chico and keep the tradition of playing in this tournament going. We've had success there, and hope to continue that." … "Dominican is a Division II team that is well-coached and can cause us problems. We have to prepare for them." …"We don't know much about Northwest Christian. We'll get a chance to watch them Friday, then start our preparation. Our focus is still to take on game at a time and get ready for the next opponent." …"We've had three nice wins (including the exhibition game) in Lumberjack Arena. The challenge now is to go somewhere else, where we won't have the big crowd of supporters and atmosphere to fee off of. At 5:30 p.m. in Chico we don't expect a lot of people, other than our own fans, to be in the gym. We'll have to generate our own high energy level."
