NEW YORK - The Humboldt State men's basketball team made a statement in Saturday afternoon's 95-83 road loss to Division I St. John's. This is a new season and the Lumberjacks are ready to make some noise.
After scoring 39 points in last season's meeting with St. John's, Humboldt State showed its improvement in the rematch.
"I am extremely pleased with the way we competed and represented Humboldt State and Humboldt County," said Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "(St. John's) threw their best players at us and kept them in the whole game. Last year we got beat by 67 and this time we led by one point at halftime. This game makes a statement to our conference and region that the Jacks are back."
HSU fell behind 5-0 in the opening minutes of its final exhibition game, but rebounded in the first half despite early foul trouble for seniors
David Howard and
Austin Bryan.
Freshman
Malik Morgan sank a 3-pointer which gave HSU its first lead of the half, 22-21, with 8:02 on the clock. Morgan finished with a team-high 14 points, nine of which were scored in the second period. The Eugene, Ore., native was 5-for-10 shooting with a pair of treys.
HSU extended its lead to a game-high seven points, 34-27, with a
Harold Perry jumper with under five minutes remaining in the half.
The Jacks took a one-point, 45-44, advantage into the locker room after an
Allan Guei layup put the Green and Gold back on top before the half expired.
St. John's was a different team in the second half, but HSU did not go down quietly. The Red Storm outscored the Jacks 51-38 in the final 20 minutes. Rysheed Jordan accounted for 18 of the 51 points as he was a perfect 7-for-7 shooting and 2-for-2 from outside the arc in the half.
Guei connected on a layup with under two minutes left in the game, which pulled HSU within six, but were unable to overcome its deficit.
Calvin Young (13). Bryan (12) and
Rakim Brown (10), each put together double-digit scoring performances in the loss.
The Jacks shot 38.5 percent from the field and 30 percent from long distance.
HSU opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 14, against Simpson at Lumberjack Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
"I think we are much improved from last year," said Kinder. "We are deep and have the offensive weaponry to compete at a high level."
