HAYWARD — Building a cushion and then holding their opponents at arm's length down the stretch, Humboldt State men's basketball advanced to the championshp game of the California Collegiaite Athletic Association tournament with a 70-61 victory over Cal State Los Angeles on Friday.

The win sends HSU into the tournament finale against Cal State Dominguez Hills, scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. The Lumberjacks, 26-2 overall, split the season series with CSUDH. The Toros, 21-6, defeated Cal Poly Pomona in Friday's other semifinal. 63-49.

On Friday, Humboldt State built an 8-point lead early in the second half, only to watch the Eagles storm back to tie the game at 44-44 on Leland Jones' jumper with 13 minutes, 3 seconds left to play. The Lumberjacks' Randy Hunter made on of two free throws on the Jacks' next trip down the court, and HSU led from that point on.

CCAA Player of the Year Brian Morris made the difference in the early going, staking the Jacks to a 37-32 halftime lead with 13 points in the period. Also important was the Jacks' limiting CSULA's leading scorer, Franklin Session, who finished the game 3-of-18 from the field for eight points.

Humboldt State's lead grew to as many as 12 points in the last five minutes, junior forward Randy Hunter taking over in the paint. Kyle Baxter's 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining put HSU up 70-58, and a 3-pointer by the Eagles' David Norris accounted for the final score.

Morris led all scorers putting up 23 points on a 10-of-12 shooting performance from the field. The senior from Portland, Ore., also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Hunter chipped in nine points and eight rebounds, and Brandon Sperling and Elliot Babcock-Krenk both scored seven points for HSU. Babcock-Krenk dished four assists without a turnover.

Norris' double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds led the Eagles, with Carl Hoffman coming in to equal Norris for game-high scoring, also with 18 points. Jones added 11 points.

Cal State L.A. vs Humboldt State

3/4/11 3:00 PM at Hayward, Calif. (Pioneer Gym)
At Hayward, Calif. (Pioneer Gym)
HUMBOLDT STATE 70, CAL STATE L.A. 61
CAL STATE L.A. (15-13)
HOFFMAN, Carl 9-12 0-2 18; NORRIS, David 6-17 4-4 18; JONES, Leland 5-9 1-3

11; SESSION, Franklin 3-15 1-3 8; ROBINSON, Chris 3-13 0-1 6; HOPKINS,
Trevor 0-1 0-0 0; ELLIS, Bussey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-68 6-13 61.
HUMBOLDT STATE (26-2)
MORRIS, Brian 10-12 3-8 23; HUNTER, Randy 3-8 3-4 9; CLARK, Scott 2-4 2-2 8;

BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 3-5 0-0 7; SPERLING, Brandon 1-8 4-4 7; BAXTER, Kyle
2-5 1-2 6; BROOME, DJ 2-5 2-2 6; SPADA, Ernie 1-3 1-2 4; BROWN, Tyler 0-0
0-0 0; ESTERS, John 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 16-24 70.
Cal State L.A.................   32   29  -   61

Humboldt State................   37   33  -   70
3-point goals--Cal State L.A. 3-18 (NORRIS, David 2-7; SESSION, Franklin
1-7; ROBINSON, Chris 0-3; ELLIS, Bussey 0-1), Humboldt State 6-17 (CLARK,
Scott 2-3; BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 1-2; SPADA, Ernie 1-3; BAXTER, Kyle 1-1;

SPERLING, Brandon 1-5; HUNTER, Randy 0-2; MORRIS, Brian 0-1). Fouled
out--Cal State L.A.-None, Humboldt State-None. Rebounds--Cal State L.A. 38
(NORRIS, David 11), Humboldt State 36 (MORRIS, Brian 9). Assists--Cal State

L.A. 13 (NORRIS, David 3; ELLIS, Bussey 3; SESSION, Franklin 3), Humboldt
State 12 (BABCOCK-KRENK, Ellio 4). Total fouls--Cal State L.A. 18, Humboldt
State 12. Technical fouls--Cal State L.A.-None, Humboldt State-None. A-345

CCAA Championships Semifinal 2