BURNABY, B.C. -- The Cal Poly Humboldt men's basketball team opened their season on Friday evening against the Vikings of Western Washington University at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge in Burnaby, British Columbia. The Lumberjacks fell to Western Washington in the non-conference matchup with a final score of 104-95.
Marlon Ruffin led all players with 25 points and was one of five Jacks that reached double digit scoring.
GAME SUMMARY
Humboldt had a slow start in the first half and found themselves down 9-2 just three minutes into the game. Back-to-back layups by
Cam Timmons cut the lead to three points, but Western Washington was matching the fast play of the Jacks and maintained the lead. Humboldt saw their first lead come after
Ian Krishnan grabbed his own offensive rebound and put it back for the "And-1" finish at the rim. The two teams exchanged baskets and with 10 minutes to go in the first half, an
Amari Green steal led to a
Rylan O'Brien three pointer that put the Jacks up 27-25. Humboldt held the momentum and went on a 9-0 run, jumping out to a 31-25 lead. Western Washington quickly responded by going on a 15-2 run of their own and headed into halftime with a 56-49 lead over the Jacks.
Although Humboldt shot a solid 46 percent from the field in the first half, Western Washington caught fire and shot an eye opening 58 percent of their own.
The Vikings came out in the second half and extended their lead over Humboldt to 15 points at the 14:13 mark. The Jacks went on another 9-0 run and continued to chip away, trimming the deficit to just four points after a pair of free throws from
Jaden Edwards at the 5:39 mark. Similar to the first half, Western Washington drew up another late run and pulled away from Humboldt down the stretch, taking the season opener with a final score of 104-95.
The Lumberjacks out-shot the Vikings in the second half 48 percent compared to 46 percent and shot an incredible 60 percent from beyond the arc compared to Western Washington's 41 percent.
POST GAME INTERVIEW
"Tonight we were able to score points but didn't execute well enough on defense," stated Head Coach
Tae Norwood. "We scored early in the shot clock but I thought we didn't get back in conversion defense well enough to offset the points that we were scoring. We made some runs tonight as well, but during those runs we need to make stops. We gave up some big threes and credit to Western Washington and their guards for shooting the ball extremely well tonight. Time to get our minds set on Simon Frazier."
When asked about the offensive performances tonight, Norwood said, "Tonight we had five guys in double figures. Two guys had over 20 points. We shot 48 percent from the field, 47 percent from three, and 94 percent from the free throw line. If we continue to shoot the way we did tonight and execute on defense moving forward, we will win games. We played good enough to win, we just didn't make enough plays down the stretch after cutting the lead to four points against a very good Western Washington team."
Humboldt scored 95 points tonight, making it the most points scored in a game since March 9, 2020 when they scored 104 points against Simpson University at Lumberjack Arena.
NOTABLE STATS
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Marlon Ruffin led all scorers with 25 points on 9-19 shooting. He also added five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block.
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Jaden Edwards posted 21 points on 50 percent shooting, six rebounds, and two assists.
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Ian Krishnan collected 13 points and shot 50 percent from beyond the arc. He notched three assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
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Josh Berenbaum was perfect from the field, going 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from three point range, totaling 13 points.
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Cam Timmons recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocks and two steals on defense.
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Amari Green shot 60 percent and collected eight points in 15 minutes of play. On the defensive end, he had two steals.
UP NEXT
Saturday, November 12, the Jacks conclude their two-game trip against CCAA/GNAC Challenge host, Simon Frazier University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. from the West Gym in Burnaby, British Columbia. The links to watch, listen, and follow live stats for this game are listed below.
Watch on YouTube
Listen on ESPN KATA Radio
Follow the Live Stats
Please visit
humboldtathletics.com for information on Cal Poly Humboldt men's basketball.
