CCAA TOURNAMENT LIVE VIDEO
ARCATA, Calif. -- The Humboldt State men's basketball team advances to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in Stockton, Calif., and will face Cal State San Bernardino Thursday, March 5, at 8:05 p.m.
The Lumberjacks finished the regular season with a 21-7 overall mark and 15-7 conference record. HSU won its final six games, including victories over eventual conference champion Chico State, and postseason-bound opponents Cal Poly Pomona, UC San Diego and Cal State Stanislaus. Saturday's win over the Broncos clinched the No. 3 seed for the Green and Gold.
Senior Day proved to be a memorable experience for HSU's five upperclassmen, as they helped capture a win against the Broncos in their home finale.
Austin Bryan nailed four 3-pointers as HSU rolled Cal Poly Pomona 75-72 in front of a sell-out crowd.
"Our first-half scoring was stellar," said HSU Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "Forty-one points against Cal Poly Pomona's No. 1 defense in the nation says a lot about our offensive output. In comparison, Cal State San Bernardino put up only twelve points in the first half against Pomona two nights earlier. I think that says a lot about where we are and that we're hitting on all cylinders."
Bryan's 22-point outing helped him surpass the 1,000-point mark in his HSU career. The Wenatchee, Wash., native ranks as one of the CCAA's top sharpshooters, a role Kinder says has not changed since his first season.
"Austin has had a tremendous career here at Humboldt State, and he's always been a scorer and a premiere shooter in the conference," said Kinder. "Having him on the floor really opens up lanes for drivers and opens up people in the post, because they have to guard him on the perimeter because he's so dangerous. He's always been an asset for us, but the one thing this season that he's provided besides his leadership is his defensive ability. It didn't start at a high level, but he certainly has improved as a defender. We appreciate his efforts and desire to get stops and to do his job defensively."
Kinder thinks the Jacks are peaking at the right time with March Madness officially beginning this week at the conference tournament.
"Peaking at the right time is every college basketball team's hope and dream, and that is what we've accomplished so far," said Kinder. "We're definitely playing at a high level. We are leading the conference with our six-game winning streak. And those six games were tough games against very good opponents, some on the road and some at home. We're really excited about our chances going into the tournament."
HSU's first CCAA Tournament opponent will be Cal State San Bernardino, a team it last played on Nov. 29, 2014. The Coyotes are the only CCAA team the Jacks were unable to beat during the regular season season. With over three months since their last meeting, Kinder believes the teams that meet Thursday will be radically different.
"It seems like it was three seasons ago that we played them back in November." said Kinder. "They are a different team, and we are a different team. They have made changes and improvements and so have we. So you start from scratch when you talk in terms of preparing for this game. Their leading scorer, their best player is somebody who didn't even play against us in November."
Jacob Thomas leads the Coyotes with 17.7 points per game and did not take the court against the Jacks in the team's previous meetings. Thomas is a dynamic scorer with the ability to net 30 on a given night. The Columbia Heights, Minn., native has scored 20 or more points in nine games this season, including a pair of 30-point outings.
The Coyotes rank third in the CCAA in points per game (67.6) and 3-pointers made per game (7.1). Cal State San Bernardino was also first in free throws attempted per game with 22.6.
In addition to Thursday's meeting with Cal State San Bernardino, Kinder is excited about HSU's return to the postseason. The Jacks last reached the CCAA Tournament in the 2011-12 season and they beat the Wildcats to move on to the Big Dance.
"We're excited to be back playing in the postseason. March Madness is always a goal and expectation of the Lumberjack program," said Kinder. "We're excited to go to Stockton, make as much noise possible and make our fans proud."
