ARCATA — Only six games remain in the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season, with the outcome likely to go down to the final weekend.  Last year's league champion, the Humboldt State Lumberjacks, are currently locked in a four-way tie for first place, sharing 11-5 records with Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. Right behind that pack are Sonoma State and Cal State Dominguez Hills, both at 10-6.

Another homestand offers the Jacks (15-5 overall) a chance to keep pace or possibly jump ahead of the others this week. Thursday's game against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Saturday's contest against Cal State Los Angeles both tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Lumberjack Arena.

On-the-Air
Every Lumberjack basketball game is broadcast live over the local airwaves on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time. Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action from courtside.

LIve Streaming
Audio and video of home games are also streamed live over the Internet. The UStream format allows an interactive chat between listeners during the webcast. The specific URL for access is located at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics .

Live Stats
All Lumberjack basketball home games can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on www.hsujacks.com. Real time statistics, momentum tracker and other information are included on the game viewer. The feature can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/mbball/ .

Head-to-Head
Following a blowout loss – 68-48 on Jan. 6 – Humboldt State holds a 10-3 record against CSLA in the all-time series. …HSU bounced back from that loss the next day, earning  a 56-54 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson on Jan. 7. That win improved the Jacks' all-time record to 10-4 vs. the Toros.

Head Coach Steve Kinder
The "Kinder Era" began last year with a 26-4 record and a regular season conference title, finishing Kinder's inaugural season of 2010-11 with high standards to match in the future. But the National Coach of the Year hasn't been resting on his laurels, instead attending to the myriad of duties from recruiting to planning another run to the title. After serving as the Jacks' No. 1 assistant for the 20 seasons, Kinder took over for his mentor, Tom Wood, in 2010-11. As an assistant, he played critical roles in recruiting and coaching while helping the Jacks' 217-77 record achieved during the past decade. Kinder is a former HSU basketball player who was a member of the 1984-85 NCAC championship team. He previously served as a graduate assistant coach for the Lumberjacks (1986-88).

Projected Starters - Humboldt State
G - #3, D.J. Broome, 5-5, Sr., Castro Valley
G - #4 Brandon Sperling, 6-3, Sr., Fresno
G - #2 Scott Clark, 6-4, Sr., Pleasanton
F - #21 Randy Hunter, 6-6, Sr., Santa Maria
F - #22 Kyle Baxter, 6-9, Sr., Sacramento

Projected Starters - Cal State Dominguez Hills
G - #3, CornelI Jenkins, 6-0, Sr., Corona
G - #5, Robert Willhite, 6-3, Sr., Ridgecrest
G - #11, Myron Green, 6-4, Jr., Irvine
G - #21, Wayne Andrews, 6-3, Jr., Compton
F - #33, George McGrew, 6-8, Jr., Chicago

Projected Starters - Cal State Los Angeles
G - #1, Chris Robinson, 6-5, Sr., Irvine
G - #2, Ryan Weatherell, 5-11, Sr., Alberta, Canada
F - #15, Quinton Watkins, 6-4, So., Inglewood
F - #21, Leland Jones, 6-6, Sr., Houston
C - #25, Carl Hoffman, 6-9, Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes

Rankings
The first of the NCAA Division II West Region rankings of the season will be released February 15, and will continue weekly until the championships field selection announcement March 4. An automatic berth in the postseason is awarded to the team that wins the CCAA Championship Tournament, but not the regular-season title. The regular season final standings determine what schools will gain a spot in the CCAA Tournament field of eight and the event's seeding.

Lumberjack Notes
Twenty games into 2011-12 season, Humboldt State stands at 15-5 overall. Combined with last year's 26-4 season, Kinder holds a .820 winning percentage as head coach.… When the Jacks are home, point production soars to 84.6 points per game overall and 81.0 in CCAA contests. On the road, it drops to 67.9 points per game for a league-leading average of 77.1 ppg. "We execute better at home," Kinder said. "It may be the enthusiasm of the home crowd or a mindset, but when we execute we have more daylight to shoot, and we knock down shots." …Tough defense has been an HSU characteristic for years, and this year's statistics once again reflect the Lumberjacks' efforts. As a team, Humboldt State ranks second in the CCAA in both steals (8.3 per game) and turnover margin (+3.5). …Individually, senior forward Randy Hunter is among the CCAA leaders in scoring and rebounding, ranking seventh in the former with an average of 13.4 points per game and fifth in the latter with 6.7 boards per game. Hunter has provided his team with multiple second-chance opportunities, reflected in his league-leading average of three offensive rebounds per game. …Another key to HSU's recent success is the variety of weapons the Jacks employ. Four different players have led HSU in scoring during the past five games, and none of them is season scoring leader Randy Hunter. …Coming off the bench to provide huge minutes last weekend were Ethan DIllard, Matt Lipski, Austin Bryan and Darren Turpin. Dillard and Bryan scored 20 and 13 points, respectively, against CSU Monterey Bay on Saturday, and Lipski and Turpin contributed valuable minutes in the post. "Matt Lipski is on his way to a strong finish. He works hard and has the best attitude," Kinder said. "Austin Bryan has to be the best sixth man in the league, and Darren Turpin played hard and did so many things that a coach likes to see. And then we have our freshman (Dillard) to come in and knock down a shot."  How much does the home crowd mean? If measured in pure support, the Jacks' faithful again lead the league. HSU is first in the CCAA in combined attendance, on the road and at home, with 888 fans per game. At home, Humboldt State is the only CCAA team to draw more than 1,000 fans per game with an average crowd of 1,081.

Opponents' Notes
Despite dropping two games on the road last week, CSU Dominguez Hills is only one game out of the league lead at 10-6. The Toros were trounced by CSU San Bernardino, 67-47, then lost a 48-46 heartbreaker to UC San Diego the following night. They head into the week with a 11-7 overall record. …CSUDH has posted a 4-5 record away from Carson this year, a trend that may point to a tough finish to the regular season since the Toros are on the road for five of their final six contests. …The Toros' defense has held opponents to shooting 38 percent from the field, best in the CCAA. …Wayne Andrews, a 6-5 senior guard, is the Toros' leading scorer with an average of 11.1 points per game. Junior forward George McGrew tops the Toros in rebounding with 5.2 per game. …Like travel partner CSUDH, Cal State Los Angeles also struggled on the road last week, falling to the same teams by a combined total of only three points. UC San Diego edged the Eagles, 57-56, and Cal State San Bernardino squeezed by, 62-60. Those losses left Cal State Los Angeles at 13-7 overall and 9-7 in the CCAA.…Quinton Watkins, Chris Robinson, and Leland Jones have started all 20 of the Eagles' games this year, and have contributed near-equal point production. Watkins averages 11.7 points per game, Robinson 11.0, and Jones 10.5.

Kinder's Comments
"There isn't much room between first place and eighth place in the CCAA. We're trying to take it game by game, with the goal of being the best team we can by March." …"The Cal State Dominguez Hills game (on Jan. 7) got us started. Since then we've won eight out of nine games, and we're feeling good about ourselves." …"CSUDH is a difficult team to cover. They have a strong perimeter game, and they're very athletic inside. We've had many classic match-ups with Cal State Dominguez Hills in the past two years. I have every reason to expect another one." … "The Cal State LA game (on Jan. 6) was our most significant loss this season. Their roster may be the most-talented one in league. On any given night they're a very dangerous team, with the potential to be a championship team."