GAMEDAY CENTRALLIVE STATS | LIVE RADIO | GAME NOTES (PDF)LUMBERJACK SOCIAL MEDIATWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAMARCATA, Calif. -- After a road split against Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus, the Humboldt State men's basketball team returns to Lumberjack Arena to face Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay this week.
HSU faces Cal State East Bay Thursday, Jan. 15 and takes on Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday, Jan. 17. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m.
The Lumberjacks picked up a dramatic overtime victory against archrival Chico State Friday, 74-73, and lost to Cal State Stanislaus the next night, 70-66. Now the Green and Gold are focused on taking the court in front of a home crowd and taking care of business.
"We play well at home," said Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "A lot of reason for that I believe is the crowd and the environment here in Lumberjack Arena. It's like no other place in the conference. We play with a little more confidence, a little more energy, a little faster and that's our style of play."
HSU saw its six-game winning streak snapped against the Warriors, but Kinder is pleased with the outcome on one of the team's toughest road trips.
"If you would have asked us a week ago, 'Would we take a split against Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus?' Certainly," said Kinder. "When any team in the conference can get a split on the road in January, they would take it and run with it."
Capturing victories against Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay would push HSU into the thick of the California Collegiate Athletic Association race. The Pioneers have one of the worst scoring offenses in the conference, but Kinder and his staff are quick to remind the team that every opponent is dangerous.
"They are dangerous, they're good," said Kinder. "They have good players and a good coaching staff. They have proven they can beat some teams and, like us, are finding some combinations and winning ways. It's important we start off well, get a quick lead on this team and we'll certainly do our best."
Freshmen
Malik Morgan and Calvin Young continue to put together impressive outings for the Green and Gold. Morgan scored a season-best 22 points in Friday's win over Chico State and Young had several exciting dunks in his 10-point, five-rebound performance. On the flip side, Morgan compiled just four points in 24 minutes of action in Saturday's loss to Cal State Stanislaus. Kinder has issued a challenge to the pair to find their consistency and take their games to the next level.
"They need to step up. If they are going to be great players as freshmen, they need to learn to play back-to-back nights whether it's in New York, Alaska, or Los Angeles," said Kinder. "They have had plenty of experience now. I don't consider them freshmen anymore; they have had a lot of quality minutes this season. They need to look in the mirror and get rolling."
In his last four conference games, senior
Allan Guei has been a steady producer for the Jacks. Guei has averaged 15.8 points per game during the stretch and he sank the game-winning shot against the Wildcats. When Morgan and Guei are on the court together, the HSU offense is able to successfully run its up-tempo style. The Jacks boast the conference's best scoring offense with 75.1 points per game.
