Warriors Rally Past Lumberjack Men's Basketball 70-66 TURLOCK, Calif. -- Despite leading 35-31 at halftime, the Humboldt State men's basketball team surrendered a second-half rally to Cal State Stanislaus and lost Saturday evening's road game 70-66.
"We didn't play the typical basketball that we played over our winning streak," said Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "We weren't able to create turnovers and keep the opponent off the offensive boards tonight. I am very proud of the way we competed after last night's game. We had many opportunities to win the game and push out to a significant lead in both halves. They are a really good basketball team and it will be interesting to see if any other teams will be able to come away from this road trip with more than a split."
The Lumberjacks (9-5, 3-5 CCAA) committed 13 second-half team fouls and nine turnovers, which fueled the Warriors' comeback. Cal State Stanislaus (9-4, 6-2 CCAA) converted 14-of-18 free throw opportunities in the second period.
Austin Bryan sank a pair of 3-pointers, which gave HSU the early lead and momentum throughout the opening 20 minutes. He scored 10 of the Jacks' first 15 points and took a team-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting into the locker room at halftime.
HSU led 35-31 at the break even though it allowed Cal State Stanislaus to score the final four points of the period. The Jacks shot 44.4 percent from the field in the first half, but connected on only 7-of-13 trips to the charity stripe.
The Warriors shooting percentage in the second half improved from 37.5 percent to 39.3, but they took advantage of the Jacks' foul trouble and turnovers. Cal State Stanislaus was in the bonus for the final 6:33 of Saturday's game.
Allan Guei knocked down a 3-point shot to pull HSU within two points, 68-66, with three seconds left, but it was too little too late for the Green and Gold. Guei ended the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
Bryan and
David Howard scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, and were the only other Jacks to finish the game with double-digit scoring totals.
HSU returns home to face Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay next weekend. The Jacks face the Pioneers Thursday, Jan. 15 and the Otters Saturday, Jan. 17. Both games tip off at 7:30 p.m.
"We need to knock down the free throws, outrebound the opponent and stay out of foul trouble. Those are the things we learned tonight," said Kinder. "Our goal is not to lose back to back and sweep at home. If we can do that, we will continue to move up the conference rankings."
