LA JOLLA — Brian Morris and Randy Hunter led the Lumberjacks to another win, but it was senior guard Ernie Spada who provided clutch contributions at the end of Humboldt State's 67-57 win over UC San Diego on Sunday afternoon.

Boxscore

The victory sends the Jacks into the holiday break with a 7-1 overall record and 3-1 California Collegiate Athletic Association mark. UC San Diego dropped to 6-4 overall 1-3 in league play.

In the rare afternoon encounter, Spada's 3-pointer with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining that gave the Jacks a lead they wouldn't relinquish in what had been a tight contest the entire way. Spada also came up with a big block of James McCann's 3-point attempt that would have tied the game with 2:57 left to play.

Morris, meanwhile, hit from all over the court to keep the Jacks in contention. Despite being limited to 24 minutes of playing time by foul trouble, Morris put up a team-high 22 points that included a 3-4 performance from 3-point range.

With Morris and point guard Brandon Sperling on the bench much of the first half, Hunter stepped up, to control the paint. The junior transfer was only 3-of-12 from the field, but converted 9-of-11 free throws to finish with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Christian Hatch led UC San Diego with 16 points. Also scoring in double figures were Justin Brue, with 13 points, and McCann, with 10.

Humboldt State dominated the boards, pulling down 37 rebounds to the Tritons' 29. More significant was HSU's 16 offensive boards, including four by Elliot Babcock-Krenk and three each from Sperling and Hunter.

The Lumberjacks are back in action on December 30 when they travel to play Cal State East Bay in Hayward. They'll continue that roadtrip with a January 2, 2011 game against Sonoma State in Rohnert Park.

Humboldt State vs UC San Diego
12/19/10 2:30 p.m. at La Jolla, Calif.
At La Jolla, Calif.
HUMBOLDT STATE 67, UC SAN DIEGO 57
HUMBOLDT STATE (7-1, 3-1 CCAA)
MORRIS, Brian 8-10 3-3 22; HUNTER, Randy 3-12 9-11 15; SPERLING, Brandon 2-7
5-6 9; CLARK, Scott 1-3 4-4 7; BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 2-6 0-0 6; BAXTER, Kyle
2-9 1-2 5; SPADA, Ernie 1-4 0-0 3; DUVALL, Emmett 0-0 0-2 0; ESTERS, John
0-1 0-0 0; BUCHANAN, Derrick 0-0 0-0 0; BROOME, DJ 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-54
22-28 67.
UC SAN DIEGO (6-4, 1-3 CCAA)
HATCH, Christian 6-9 3-4 15; BRUE, Justin 4-8 5-10 13; McCANN, James 1-6 8-9
10; RYAN, Casey 2-7 2-2 6; McGRATH, Tyler 1-4 2-2 5; PETERS, Ryan 2-3 0-0 4;
MEZA, Mike 2-4 0-0 4; PORTER, Colin 0-1 0-0 0; BAILEY, Matt 0-0 0-0 0;
WHEELER, Ryan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-44 20-27 57.
Humboldt State................   27   40  -   67
UC San Diego..................   27   30  -   57
3-point goals--Humboldt State 7-22 (MORRIS, Brian 3-4; BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio
2-6; SPADA, Ernie 1-3; CLARK, Scott 1-2; ESTERS, John 0-1; BROOME, DJ 0-1;
BAXTER, Kyle 0-2; SPERLING, Brandon 0-3), UC San Diego 1-5 (McGRATH, Tyler
1-4; McCANN, James 0-1). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, UC San Diego-None.
Rebounds--Humboldt State 37 (HUNTER, Randy 11), UC San Diego 29 (BRUE,
Justin 8). Assists--Humboldt State 8 (CLARK, Scott 3), UC San Diego 9
(McCANN, James 3). Total fouls--Humboldt State 21, UC San Diego 22.
Technical fouls--Humboldt State-None, UC San Diego-None. A-396