SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--- Malek Davis and Marlon Ruffin combined for nearly half the team's offense as the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks outlasted a late rally against the San Francisco State Gators, 83-81, on Saturday afternoon in San Francisco. Davis and Ruffin both scored 20 each to lead the Jacks, with Ruffin pulling down nine rebounds and Davis dishing out seven assists. Ruffin also added five steals. Cam Timmons scored 12 points with five rebounds and a block in the victory for Humboldt, who improved to 6-2 in conference play.

GAME SUMMARY
The Gators jumped out to an early 7-2 lead behind a fastbreak layup by John Bakke and back-to-back jumpers from Jonah Roth. Two layups by Timmons put the Jacks right back in it, and tied the game with a third layup with 15 to go in the first half. Both teams played back and forth until the last five minutes of the half, when a Ruffin jumper sparked a 10-5 run. Brandon Porter hit a jump shot with 2:10 remaining to give Humboldt its first double digit lead of the night, 40-30. Humboldt would limit the Gators to just one field goal over the last two minutes as the team expanded its lead 47-32 going into halftime. 

The Jacks led by as much as 20 points in the second half, but a 16-6 run started by a pair of Roth free throws chipped the lead to 10 with 10:16 remaining. A dunk by Roth cut the Jacks' lead to just five with 3:13 remaining, but Humboldt responded with back-to-back jumpers by Davis and Amari Green to bring the lead back to nine with two minutes left in regulation. The host team wouldn't give up without a fight, and a 3-pointer on a fastbreak by Roth cut the deficit to just five with 11 seconds remaining. Six seconds later, a steal by CJ Bellamy led to another 3-pointer by Jalen Flanagan to cut the Jacks' lead to two with just five seconds left. The Gators were forced to foul with three seconds left, where Davis and Ruffin hit clutch free throws to put the game out of reach. Caleb Oden made a buzzer beater at the end to cut the gap to two as the Jacks escaped with a 83-81 victory.

NOTABLE STATS
Despite a poor performance from behind-the-arc, Humboldt managed to shoot 50 percent from the field with 34 points in the paint and 28 points from fast breaks. The Jacks also took advantage of free throws, going 19-22 from the charity stripe. Humboldt also outscored the Gators in points off turnovers 24-18. Marlon Ruffin's nine rebounds and five steals were also season highs.

UP NEXT
The Jacks (8-6, 6-2 CCAA) return to the friendly confines of Lumberjack Arena for their first home game of 2023 against Cal State Los Angeles (7-6, 4-3 CCAA) on Thursday, January 12. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM. 

For more information on Cal Poly Humboldt men's basketball, please visit humboldtathletics.com and follow us on all social media platforms.