ARCATA, Calif. – Looking to build on back-to-back home wins, the Humboldt State men's basketball team travels south this weekend for Friday and Sunday meetings with UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos, respectively, both tipping at 7:30 p.m.
"We're really excited about our two victories," Head Coach Steve Kinder said of last weekend's 73-68 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills and 69-64 victory over Cal State LA. "I thought we were really playing well together, playing as a team. Not only offensively but defensively we have better communication going on, and we've been able to change defenses on the fly during the game. We're starting to look like a college basketball team out there, so I'm very proud."
The wins were the Jacks' first in CCAA play and they couldn't come at a better time, as they allowed the North Coast squad to establish some positive momentum heading into Friday's showdown with the Tritons (5-2 in the CCAA) and Sunday's contest with the Cougars (5-1 CCAA).
Tyras Rattler Jr. has paced the Jacks this season with his 14.3 points per game scoring and ranks second in rebounding with 5.5 per game. Davasyia Hagger has provided a strong inside presence and more than a few thunderous dunks in accumulating 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Kameron Curl, in addition to serving as the Jacks' floor general, scored 20 against Cal State Dominguez Hills and 17 against Cal State LA.
Coach Kinder relishes the challenge the accomplished Triton squad will present. "UC San Diego is a tough team," said Kinder. "They're well-coached, they're a very disciplined team, and they know how to win games. They're very good at home, so we have a tall order in that competition we have coming up. We will prepare, we'll travel correctly, we'll travel safely, we'll get down there and keep that momentum we have going. We'll use that for confidence with the team and individually and collectively, I like our chances regarding how we will perform."
Coach Kinder highlighted how the squad is doing well despite the adversity of several season-ending injuries that have left the Jacks with just nine healthy players. He referred to it as a little bit of addition by subtraction, mentioning that HSU has a very tight locker room and has adopted an "us against the world" mentality and responded accordingly. He also mentioned how the Jacks have been forced to rely on players to become more interchangeable both offensively and defensively.
Romario Wilson, who provided a spark off the bench with 15 points against Cal State Dominguez Hills and 12 against Cal State LA. Wilson, has battled injuries for the majority of the season. Wilson is mindful of how each Lumberjack must take responsibility for his role on the court.
"I just go out there and play hard and do what I can to help the team win," said Wilson. "As a team, everybody knows their role. So if someone goes down, you just have to look at it as this being my opportunity to step up and try to help the team win. I think that's all of our mindsets right now."
Wilson talked about how cohesion is especially important for the Jacks in the wake of their injury struggles: "We always talk about how we have to stick together. When people are going down, we have to know who's here right now and focus on each other. We get tighter as a group and know that when we go out there, we have to be there for the person who's next to you."
