ARCATA, Calif. – The Humboldt State men's basketball team travels to face Cal State Monterey Bay Thursday and Cal Poly Pomona Saturday in search of its first California Collegiate Athletic Association victories of the 2017-18 season. Both games will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

A 77-70 loss to Cal State San Bernardino last weekend moved the Green and Gold's overall record to 3-4 and their conference mark to 0-2. Tyras Rattler Jr. led all scorers with 23 points in a game that looked like a landslide victory for the Coyotes, before a furious rally by the North Coast squad in the final 20 minutes. Rattler has been the motor driving the HSU offense this season averaging 15.4 points and a team-high 4.0 assists per game.

"I was really excited about how hard we played," said Head Coach Steve Kinder. "We were tough, physical and we certainly competed. We gave ourselves a chance to win down the stretch."

The Otters have lost two of their last three games, but picked up an 80-72 win versus Dominican on Sunday. Senior Mateo Jones has returned from a medical redshirt season a year ago as Monterey Bay's scoring leader averaging 13.1 points per game. Jones poured in 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting in Sunday's win. Monterey Bay is off to a 2-5 start and is winless (0-2) in the Kelp Bed.

"Monterey Bay is good, they're dangerous," said Kinder. "They are just coming off a win, and I am sure they are feeling good about themselves."

Pomona rides its three-game winning streak into a Friday matchup with Chico State followed by a Saturday showdown with the Jacks. Head Coach Greg Kamansky's vaunted defense has stifled its last two opponents limiting them to less than 50 points in each game. The Broncos are led by the reigning CCAA Freshman of the Year, William Christmas. Christmas is averaging 13.8 points per game and has already recorded a pair of double-doubles. Pomona is 3-1 in Kellogg Arena and is 4-1 overall.