ARCATA, Calif--- Humboldt State men's basketball team will look to continue its winning ways as the 'Jacks travel to No. 7 Chico State (Dec. 18) and Sonoma State (Dec. 20). These two games will be the Lumberjacks' last games of the 2021 calendar year. The 7-2 Lumberjacks are on a two-game winning streak after defeating Simpson (85-68) and Stanislaus State (66-53) this past weekend.
COACHING STAFF: The 'Jacks are coached by second-year head coach
Tae Norwood. Coach Norwood has a .708 winning percentage during his three years as a head coach. Norwood led the 'Jacks to a 4-5 record during the pandemic season. He came to Humboldt State from Florida, where he guided Keiser University to a 23-7 record during the 2019-20 season including a share of the conference regular season title. Keiser also appeared in the NAIA Tournament.
On his staff are
Andy Harre (first year), HSU Alum and former men's basketball player
Colin Caslick (third season) along with volunteers Jason Hodges and Baron Parks.
RECAP OF LAST WEEK'S GAMES: The 'Jacks went 2-0 in their two games last week. HSU finished off its non-conference season 6-0 after an 85-68 win over Simpson on Thursday evening at Lumberjack Arena.
Jaden Edwards led the way with 41 points and 10 rebounds. Edwards went 18-for-23 from the field including going two-for-three from three-point range. He also went three-for-five from the line while blocking a shot, dishing out two assists and recording a steal.
AJ Sims chipped in 13 points for the victors. The 'Jacks picked up their first CCAA win with a 66-53 road win over Stanislaus State on Saturday.
Bryce Mitchell paced HSU with his season high 19 points. Edwards added 13 points and a season high 17 rebounds with
Amari Green scoring a season high 12 points.
UPDATE ON THE LUMBERJACKS: Humboldt State 7-2 overall and 1-2 in the CCAA. HSU is averaging 74.2 points per game while giving up 69.2 points per game. The 'Jacks are out-rebounding their opponents 38.4 to 33.9.
Jaden Edwards leads the way with his 19.1 scoring average and 10.4 rebounding average.
Will Johnson is averaging 13.3 points per game while dishing out a team leading 39 assists and recording a team high 18 steals. Johnson leads the team with his 49.5% shooting from the field while
Amari Green is shooting a team leading 87.5% from the charity stripe.
Thomas Melonja leads the team with his 46.3% shooting from three-point land and 19 threes made.
Bryce Mitchell has blocked a team high nine shots.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In his first season as a 'Jack,
Jaden Edwards has recorded six double-doubles this season including one in the Lumberjacks' last four games. Edwards' first two game in HSU's first two games versus Western Washington (16 points/14 rebounds) and Simon Fraser (15 points/10 rebounds). On Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, Edwards had an 11 points/11 rebound performance against SF State and a 19 points/12 rebounds effort against CSU Monterey Bay. This past weekend, Edwards scored 41 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Simpson (Dec. 9) and scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds at Stanislaus State (Dec. 11).
CCAA/NCAA RANKINGS: Humboldt State is third in the CCAA in free throw percentage (.752) and rebounding margin (+4.6) while the 'Jacks are fourth in scoring margin (+4.0). They are also fifth in field goal percentage defense (40.4%) and sixth in scoring defense (69.2 ppg), field goal percentage (43.8%) and three-point field percentage (33.9%). Five players are in the top ten in nine categories.
Jaden Edwards is first in rebounding (10.4 rpg), second in scoring (19.7 ppg), seventh in free throw percentage (74.3%) and ninth in field goal percentage (47.2%).
Will Johnson is first in steals per game (2.3), second in assists per game (4.9) and sixth in field goal percentage (49.5%).
Thomas Melonja is fourth in three-point field goal percentage (46.3%) and eighth in three-point field goals made per game (2.1). In the recent NCAA Division II Statistics, Edwards is sixth with his six double-doubles and 16
th with his 10.2 rebounds per game average.
6-0 NON-CONFERENCE (4-0 AGAINST NCAA DII WEST REGION FOES): Four of HSU's six non-conference games were all NCAA Division II West Region games. HSU started the season with two important wins over Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponents in Western Washington (70-69) and Simon Fraser (63-59) in Carson, California. The 'Jacks also defeated Western Oregon, 75-67, from the GNAC and Dominican, 74-68, from the PacWest Conference. HSU's other non-conference victories were an 81-78 over Lincoln and an 85-68 win over Simpson. The CCAA, GNAC and PacWest Conferences are all members of the NCAA Division II West Region.
NO. 7. CHICO STATE: The Wildcats are 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the CCAA after defeating Sonoma State 81-61 this past Saturday in Chico. They are averaging 76.6 points per game while giving up 62.1 points per game. Chico State is out-rebounding its opponents 34.5 to 32.0. Four players are averaging double digits in scoring in Kevin Warren (16.1 ppg), Malik Duffy (13.5 ppg), Isaiah Brooks (11.1 ppg) and Joshua Hamilton (10.8 ppg). Kelvin Wright Jr., leads the team with his 7.9 rebounding average, 16 blocked shots and 73.2% shooting from the field. Brooks has made a team leading 54.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc while dishing out a team leading 37 assists. Duffy has made a team high 20 of his three-point field goal attempts while connecting on 88% of his attempts from the line to lead the way for the nationally ranked Wildcats.
ALL-TIME SERIES (HSU vs. CHICO): Chico State leads the all-time series with the 'Jacks including winning the last three games in a row. The Wildcats won both games in 2019-20, 93-66 in Chico on Dec. 21, 2019 and 86-57 in Arcata on Feb. 27, 2020. The last win by the 'Jacks was on Dec. 15, 2018, 55-53 in Arcata when
Amari Green's jumper with one-second left gave HSU the victory. The 'Jacks last won in Chico on Jan. 9, 2016, 74-73 in overtime when Allen Guei's jumper gave HSU the win as the buzzer sounded.
SONOMA STATE: The Seawolves are 1-8 overall and 1-2 in the CCAA entering their game with Stanislaus State this Saturday the 18th. They split their last two games winning 54-51 over SF State at home on Dec. 4 and losing 81-61 at Chico State this past Saturday. Sonoma State is averaging 60.6 points per game while giving up 72.1 points per game. The Seawolves are being out-rebounded 35.4 to 30.9. Nick Klarman leads the way with his 11.6 scoring average, 25 assists, 15 steals and 77.3% shooting from the line. Jaylen Wells is right behind him at 10.7 points per game and leads the team with his 5.4 rebounding average. Preston Blake leads SSU with his 56.3% shooting from the field while Klarman has made a team leading 15 threes. Jeremy Lillis has connected on a team high 37.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
ALL-TIME SERIES (HSU vs. SONOMA): HSU leads the all-times series with the Seawolves 39-35 with Sonoma State winning both games in 2019-20. SSU won 86-73 in Arcata on Nov. 21, 2019 and 79-67 in Rohnert Park on Feb. 15, 2020. HSU last won over Sonoma State, 78-66 in Arcata on Feb. 28, 2019. The 'Jacks last won in Rohnert Park, 67-51 on Feb. 6, 2016 as current assistant coach
Colin Caslick scored six points.
LIVE STATS/VIDEO: To view the video stream, go to www.ccaanetwork.com/hsu. For live stats, go to
https://hsujacks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary. You can also listen to JB Mathers call the game on the radio on 92.7 FM KGOE.com. The video stream will be free until December 31, 2021. Then on January 1, 2022, you will have to pay a monthly subscription fee of $9.99.
CCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN LUMBERJACK ARENA: Humboldt State will host the 2021-22 CCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, March 3-5 at Lumberjack Arena. The top six teams will receive a berth to the CCAA Championships. March 3 will be the quarterfinal round with the top two seeds receiving a bye. The semi-final round games are set for March 4 with the championship game set for March 5. The winner of the CCAA Championships will receive the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Championships.
FAN POLICY: For the updated fan policy at Humboldt State, go to
https://campusready.humboldt.edu/news/vaccine-or-proof-negative-test-required-campus-events-beginning-december-1.
For the updated fan policies at each of the 11 other CCAA institutions, go to
https://goccaa.org/sports/2021/8/24/GEN_0824214911.aspx.
UP NEXT: The 'Jacks will return home on Sunday, January 2 at 3pm when they host Sonoma State at Lumberjack Arena.
