ARCATA, Calif. — The Humboldt State men's basketball team clinched a spot in the 2019 California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament following its 78-66 victory over Sonoma State Thursday night in Lumberjack Arena.

The Lumberjacks scored their first points 30 seconds into the game thanks to a Justin Everett jumper and never looked back. HSU held the Seawolves to a 32.3 percent shooting percentage in the first half as the Green and Gold took a 34-24 lead into the locker room.

The Seawolves never took a lead of their own as the home team remained on top for 38:15 minutes. HSU outrebounded Sonoma 40-34 while the North Coast squad forced 13 turnovers.

"Our defense was the key to the game," said Head Coach Steve Kinder. "Being able to keep Sonoma to 40 percent from the floor as well as they transition is a testament to our team. I thought we did a good job of surviving their runs and getting stops at crucial times and countering on the offensive end. There have been times this year where we haven't countered and we come up short. Tonight we survived and played well enough defensively to come out with the win."

Junior shooting guard Jackson Strong shot 70 percent from beyond the arc and connected on seven 3s as he finished with 23 points to lead all scorers. Strong now owns the number No. 2 spot in the all-time record book with 89 three-pointers made in a season.

"He's always a weapon on the floor," said Kinder. "If he's not hitting 3s he's stretching the court allowing lanes for our drivers to get to the rim. He's also allowing space for our post players to get touches so there's always a reason to get him a lot of minutes. Tonight it was easy to see how great of a player he is."

Jamarlin Jackson and Everett each scored 16 while Calvin Young II corraled eight rebounds. Lewayne Grant finished as the Seawolves' top scorer with 20 points on a 7-for-9 shooting night.

The Jacks finish their regular season Saturday when they take on San Francisco State at 7:30 p.m. inside Lumberjack Arena. Saturday's game will also serve as HSU's Senior Recognition and Frank Cheek Night.