For the third week in a row, Humboldt State earned a split, but will try to improve this week in its toughest week of road action of the season.

The Lumberjacks proved the opening contest of the California Collegiate Athletic Association weekend was to their liking. HSU garnered an 80-76 win over Cal State Stanislaus for its third consecutive win in the first contest of the weekly pair. The Jacks momentum was not able to be held onto with a tough 82-70 defeat at the hands of rival Chico State.

HSU starts the home stretch of the league docket against eighth-ranked Cal State San Bernardino, the hottest squad in the West Region. The Jacks battled the nationally-rated Coyotes Friday night before going south to La Jolla to take on the Tritons of UC San Diego on Saturday evening with both tipping-off at 7:30 p.m.

Track the Jacks

Audio: Every Humboldt State men's basketball game is broadcast live on the local airwaves on KATA 1340 AM, the North Coast's ESPN affiliate owned by BiCoastal Media. J.B. Mathers handles the play-by-play responsibilities, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to tip-off. The audio is also streamed live online at http://socialstreamingplayer.crystalmedianetworks.com/radio/kataam. 

Video: Friday's game at CSU San Bernardino will have no video feed. Saturday night the live streamed video online from RIMAC Arena is: http://www.ucsdtritons.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=5800&

Live Stats: Follow the action online via CSU San Bernardino at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csusb/mbball/
and from UC San Diego at: http://www.ucsdtritons.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=5800&

Head-to-Head History

A team will have more success in certain arenas than other ones. HSU has had a fair amount of wins between playing at CSU San Bernardino and UC San Diego over the past seven years. The Jacks are a combined 7-9 over that span, but were swept in the same road swing a year ago. ... Against the Coyotes, the visiting Jacks trail 16-6 in the series with three losses in a row. HSU last clamed a victory on Jan. 20, 2012 in San Bernardino by a final of 65-61, the final win of four-straight in the series. Overall, the Jacks are 3-5 in Coussoulis Arena. Last Feb. 9, CSU San Bernardino ran away from HSU, 93-68. On Dec. 7, the Coyotes were able to fend off a late Jacks charge to pull out an 89-79 win in Arcata ... Against UC San Diego, HSU is 10-6 over the last seven years and 12-6 overall. The Tritons have won the last three including a 75-69 on Dec. 5 in Arcata. Before the last three contests, HSU enjoyed a six-game run with the last win, 72-68, coming on Feb. 22, 2012 in La Jolla.

Statistically Speaking

The latest HSU standings among the CCAA statistical rankings heading into this week's competition.

Probable Starters

Lumberjacks

#4 Parker Farris, G, 6-4, 180, Fr., McKinleyville
#15 Brandon Pomrehn, C, 6-8, 230, Jr., Arcata
#22 Will Taylor, G/F, 6-4, 220, Fr., Eureka
#25 Allan Guei, G, 5-9, 163, Jr., Los Angeles
#32 David Howard, F, 6-7, 230, Jr., Chicago

Cal State San Bernardino
#12 Juan Martinez, G, 5-9, 175, Jr., Riverside
#13 Lacy Haddock, G, 6-2, 185, Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.
#15 Andrew Young, F, 6-8, 240, Sr., Monterey
#22 Joshua Gouch, G/F, 6-5, 185, Sr., Columbus, Ohio
#24 Jordan Burris, F, 6-7, 220, Sr., Bakersfield

UC San Diego
#10 James McCann, G, 5-11, 165, Sr., Carlsbad
#12 Adam Klie, G, 6-4, 190, Fr., Anchorage, Alaska
#14 Drew Dyer, F, 6-6, 210, So., Aurora, Colo.
#15 Aleks Lipovic, G, 6-4, 185, rFr., Capistrano Beach
#23 Hunter Walker, F, 6-4, 205, So., Santa Maria

Howard downs 50-plus for games

With what is becoming one of the most consistent shots in the CCAA, David Howard continued his scoring binge last week. The junior produced 51 points and 13 rebounds in only 47 minutes of court time to continue to pace the HSU attack. Against Cal State Stanislaus, the forward pumped in 20 first half tallies to help HSU light up the scoreboard for 48 points. Howard finished with 27 points on nine of 14 shooting and three of six triples to go with five rebounds despite dealing foul trouble. On Saturday evening, Howard followed the outing with a 24-point performance with 19 coming in the latter stanza with another three 3-pointers. He added eight boards and two blocks. Howard now has moved into the top scoring spot of the CCAA at 20.9 ppg while averaging 7.4 rpg and hitting a team-best 44.7% (21 of 47) of his long-range attempts.

Scouting CSU San Bernardino (15-1/12-0 CCAA)

Cal State San Bernardino is the hottest team on the West Coast in all of Division II men's basketball with 15 wins in a row after dropping its first game by four points to Washburn, 78-74. The eighth-ranked Coyotes sit alone at the top of the CCAA standings with a perfect 12-0 mark with eight of those victories coming by 10 or more points. It is no accident CSUSB is where it is. The Coyotes lead the league in five team stat categories including scoring (83.5 ppg), 3-point percentage (37.5%), assists (16.8 apg), steals (8.1 spg) and blocks (4.1 bpg), while second in field goal percentage (47.8%). CSUSB recorded its 14th and 15th wins in a row last weekend with a dominating win over Cal State LA (92-51) and doing what it had to against CSU Dominguez Hills (78-72). The Coyotes have four players averaging over 13 points per night led by inside players Andrew Young (15.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Jordan Burris (14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg). In the backcourt, Kirby Gardner (13.4 ppg) and Lacy Haddock (13.1 ppg, 109 assists) direct the offense.

HSU head coach Steve Kinder on the weekend: "Going into the second half of the conference, each team has the luxury of looking at the previous matchup. Like us, I am sure they have grown by leaps and bounds especially with playing each other so early in the season. They (CSUSB) has proven to be the number one team and top team of the West Region. Their win streak is impressive and they are hitting on all cylinders. They are red hot and will be tough to beat on their home floor, which makes for a formidable task and mountain to climb. We typically concentrate on Friday night in preparations but this week we are preparing for both games."

Scouting UC San Diego (9-7/5-7 CCAA)

UC San Diego has been a streaky team by week over the past four weeks. The Tritons have either swept or been swept by week in the past four-game sets. Last week, UCSD had the week of victories by taking CSU Dominguez Hills (80-59) and Cal State LA (70-66). The Tritons will try to continue their short run of success over the Jacks of three games. UCSD has prevailed in seven of its 10 home contests of the season and last two when hosting HSU. The Tritons have five players hitting for nine-plus points per contest. Guard James McCann drops 15.1 points per night from the outside and forward Drew Dyer (12.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg) pacing the inside. A pair of 6-4 wing players – Adam Klie (10.0 ppg) and MacKenzie McCullough (10.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg) are also top threats.

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