ARCATA, Calif. -- Humboldt State men's basketball rallied to defeat Chico State 71-65 Saturday evening in Lumberjack Arena. The victory sealed HSU's regular season sweep of the California Collegiate Athletic Association's standings leader.
"This was a special night," said Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "We won the rivalry at home and beat them on the road with a buzzer beater. Chico State is a rival and ranks No. 1 in the conference. This win proves to our fans and the rest of the conference that we are a championship-caliber team."
With Saturday's win the Lumberjacks improve to 11-7 in the CCAA and 17-7 overall. Chico State's loss ties it with Cal Poly Pomona for the top spot in the standings. The Wildcats are 17-6 overall and 14-4 in conference.
It was a 16-6 run midway through the second half that helped ignite a sellout crowd and propel the Green and Gold to victory. Trailing 47-41 with 12:47 left in the game, senior
Austin Bryan knocked down a 3-point basket to spark the drive. HSU connected on four of its six 3-pointers during the 16-6 run, which gave it a 57-53 advantage with 7:24 left. The Jacks never trailed for the remainder of the game.
HSU shot 36.4 percent from the field in the first half and trailed the hot-handed Chico State shooters (61.9 percent) by three, 32-29, at the break.
Calvin Young II was the Jacks' top scorer with 13 points in the opening period. The Fresno, Calif., native notched his second double-double of the season in the win and finished with 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Malik Morgan scored all 10 of his points in the second half and dished out five assists.
Rakim Brown was the Green and Gold's leading scorer with 16 points,
Thomas Witzel added 13 and
Austin Bryan scored 10.
"Rocky (Rakim) Brown makes emotional, uplifting plays for the Lumberjacks," said Kinder. "He is a hustler, a scrapper and is an extremely skilled player. He also finds ways to get rebounds and steals."
The Jacks visit Cal State Monterey Bay Thursday evening in The Kelp Bed. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
"We will get down to Monterey Bay and set up camp. We need to focus in on what they have done recently and prepare for them."
