Box Score ARCATA — Answering the challenge in the game's final minute, Humboldt State escaped with a 72-68 win over UC San Diego on Wednesday, assuring the Lumberjacks of a first round home game when the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships begin Tuesday.

Randy Hunter scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace HSU. Equally critical to the Jacks' success was the outstanding play of sophomore Matt Lipski. Coming off the bench, the 6-9, 265-pound forward muscled his way through the paint, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots.

The victory improves Humboldt State's record to 18-7 overall, and the Jacks move to 14-7 in the tight CCAA race, tied for second with Cal Poly Pomona. They'll play one more regular season game, taking on Cal State San Bernardino at home Friday before preparing for next week's postseason tournament.

UC San Diego, a team the Jacks edged by a single point in an earlier encounter in La Jolla, dropped to 10-16 on the season and 6-15 in conference play. Justin Brue led the Tritons in scoring with 18 points, James McCann added 12, and MacKenzie MuCullough and Christian Hatch each contributed 11.

After trailing 33-32 at halftime, the Tritons took the lead with two McCann free throws as the second half began. Multiple lead changes and six ties brought the teams to the final minute of play with UCSD holding a one-point advantage.

The Tritons imploded down the stretch, missing their only shot from the field and only free throw attempt, turning the ball over twice and committing a pair of fouls. Humboldt State took a 69-68 lead on Hunter's layup with 10 seconds remaining, and two steals by Scott Clark kept the Jacks' momentum rolling. Clark also dropped in a pair of free throws with one second remaining to seal the victory.

"We were poised and maintained our composure down the stretch," HSU head coach Steve Kinder said. "We talked about that during the week, how we needed to maintain a collective positive attitude when the game's on the line."

Throughout the back-and-forth battle, Lipski responded to a match-up with Hatch, one of the CCAA's premier post players. Early in the second half, Lipski showcased his versatility, hitting a pair of free throws, assisting on Austin Bryan's layup, then forcing his way to the basket for his own two points to give HSU a 50-47 lead wtih 11 minutes 55 seconds remaining.

After six minutes of matching points for points with HSU, UCSD put together a 10-2 run to take the game's largest lead of the night at six. Mike Meza's three-pointer and a free throw by Colin Porter made the score 64-58 with 4:34 left on the clock.

The Tritons still held a three-point advantage with 1:17 remaining, but two free throws by Hunter started the Jacks on a 7-0 surge to finish the game.

Also contributing to the Jacks' offensive efforts were Bryan, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Ethan Dillard hit three first-half three-pointers to finish with nine points, and Clark scored eight while also coming up with a game-high four steals.

While HSU is assured of a tournament first round home game, Friday's regular season finale against the Coyotes will help determine the event's overall seeding. Wednesday's win also pulled the Jacks within a half game of league leader Chico State, keeping HSU's hopes of defending it's CCAA title alive.