Box Score ARCATA — Small steps, large leaps, and even a couple of stumbles all add up to progress for the Humboldt State men's basketball team, which displayed all of those elements in Friday's official season-opener against Simpson College. In the end, the Jacks posted a 83-66 win over the visiting Red Hawks, who dropped to 0-4 on the young season.

Ten players saw double-digit minutes on the court for third-year head coach Steve Kinder's Lumberjacks, helping the Jacks spread around the scoring. Cody Kale had the hottest hand, finishing with a team-high 15 points, while Thomas Witzel added 12, also coming off the bench. Alec Williams achieved the Jacks' first double-double of 2012-13 in his first appearance representing HSU, ending with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Darren Turpin contributed 10 points.

Points didn't come easily for Humboldt State, particularly in the first half, in which the Jacks shot only 33 percent from the field and 15 percent from 3-point range. While Simpson's defense deserved some of the credit, more of the struggles were of the Jacks' own making.

"During the game we always had this feeling that we should have been further ahead," Kinder said. "Our 3-point shooting was poor, and we were missing tip-ins, too. It seemed to become contagious. But we played hard through it all, for 40 minutes. That's not easy to do when the shots aren't falling."

For nearly five minutes following the opening tip, the ball clunked, caromed and rimmed off the basket as the Lumberjacks missed 10 of their first 11 attempts. Aaron Chamberlain's dunk ended that cold streak, but another of six straight misses followed shortly thereafter, leaving the score tied at 13-13 midway through the first half.

Simpson's Guy Varsek kept his team in contention throughout most of the period, contributing 10 of his eventual 15 points. Meanwhile, the hard work of Darren Turpin and Thomas Witzel began paying dividends for Humboldt State. Both added key buckets, and Turpin's layup with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left until halftime finally opened a double-digit lead that HSU held the remainder of the game.

By the mid-point of the second half, Humboldt State's players had discovered their collective form. The Jacks built a 20-point lead, and Kinder employed a variety of player combinations on the way to the decisive win.

Along with Varsek, Jordan Collins provided most of the Red Hawks' scoring, ending with a team-high 16 points. Varsek also led his team in rebounding with seven, but the Jacks dominated the Red Hawks on the boards overall, grabbing 55 to Simpson's 40.

Humboldt State is back on its home court Monday to face its last non-league opponent. Menlo College visits Arcata for the 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Lumberjack Arena.