ARCATA — Clutch plays down the stretch by point guard Brandon Sperling helped Humboldt State preserve its lead on the way to a 77-67 win over Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday.
Boxscore
The Lumberjacks' win improved their overall record to 17-2 on the season while they remain on top of the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings at 13-2. CSU Stanislaus, the team that dealt HSU one of its two losses earlier this season, dropped to 8-11 overall and 6-9 in league.
After CSU Stanislaus had cut the Jacks' once 12-point lead to 5 with under six minutes to go, Sperling scored six straight points to help reestablish the advantage. Following a pair of free throws, the junior penetrated the paint on consecutive possessions, then a 3-pointer by
Ernie Spada brought the lead back to 12 at 68-56 with 4:01 left on the clock.
"Brandon made the big plays at the right time when we needed them most," Humboldt State head coach
Steve Kinder said. "The CCAA has so many premier guards, and he's certainly in that class as one of them."
Sperling, who finished with 13 points and four assists, was one of four Jacks scoring in double figures.
Brian Morris led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Randy Hunter had 19 points and four assists. Spada knocked down two of his three 3-point chances, finishing the game with 10 points.
HSU surged ahead in the opening half, grabbing a 37-25 lead by halftime. In the waning seconds of the first period Hunter hit one of his three 3-pointers, and Scott Clark added a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give the Jacks their healthy lead.
In the early minutes of the second half, the Warriors came roaring back, cutting the Jacks' lead to three points following Evan Scott's dunk and 3-pointer. Humboldt State claimed an 8-point lead on Morris' layup with 11:18 left on the clock, but the Warriors answered again, trimming the lead to four on Reggie Jones' mid-range jumper.
Jones ended the evening wtih 15 points to top the Warriors in scoring, while Scott, Prince Abidoye and Dan Daviess each contributed 13 points for Cal State Stanislaus. Tyler Smith was the teams' top rebounder with five.
