OCEANSIDE, Calif. – In its third consecutive overtime game, Cal State San Marcos captured an 84-79 conference win over the Humboldt State men's basketball team Thursday night.
 
The result snapped a four-game winning streak for the Lumberjacks and opened the California Collegiate Athletic Association season with a loss. The Cougars improved to 3-3 overall.

"Poor free-throw shooting and committing too many fouls throughout the ball game resulted in a loss in which we can look back and say we beat ourselves," said Head Coach Steve Kinder. "I was proud of our hustle and our ability to sustain toughness from start to finish. San Marcos made some big shots down the stretch that resulted in a win for the home team."
 
Despite early foul trouble, the Jacks were able to dictate the pace of play in the first half. Thomas Witzel led all scorers with 17 points in the first 20 minutes and was 4-for-4 from 3-point range. The Arcata, Calif., native's 3-pointer with 2:03 remaining in the half sparked a 6-0 run into intermission. The Jacks held a game-high, 11-point lead at the break, 40-29.
 
The Cougars immediately stole the momentum in the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. Darnell Taylor and Taran Brown led San Marcos with 16 and 12 points, respectively, after the break. Taylor sank the game-tying layup that forced overtime with 1:11 to play.
 
HSU was outscored 9-4 in overtime. Declan Daley led the Cougars with four points and a steal in the extra period.
 
Witzel led the Green and Gold with 21 points and connected on a team-high four 3-pointers. He finished a rebound shy of a double-double with nine.
 
The Jacks were unable to find an answer at the free-throw line in the loss. HSU shot 41.9 percent from the charity stripe and missed on 18 free-throw opportunities.
 
Taylor led all scorers with 23 points for the Cougars. He also dished out six assists and pulled down seven boards.
 
Malik Morgan (18) and Rakim Brown (14) also finished with double-digit points for the Jacks. Eleven of Morgan's points came in the second half. He was 4-for-6 shooting from the field after the intermission.
 
HSU welcomes Cal State Los Angeles to Lumberjack Arena Saturday, Dec. 5. Tipoff for the conference game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.