CHICO, Calif. -- The Cal Poly Humboldt men's basketball team closed out 2023 with a CCAA road match up at No. 24 ranked Chico State on Sunday afternoon. A tough battle saw the Lumberjacks trail by as little as three points in the first half, but the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to finish on top with a final score of 69-58. Pejan Slater led the way for Humboldt with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Cal Poly Humboldt fell behind early to the Wildcats, as Chico led 21-8 at the halfway point of the first half. At the 9:15 mark, Ramiah Adedigba ignited a 12-2 run after sinking a jumper. Rob Diaz III scored five straight points that was followed by a Pejan Slater layup and Adedigba three-pointer to close out the big run. This brought the Lumberjacks to within three points, 23-20. With about six minutes left to go in the first half, No. 24 Chico aimed to extend their lead, but Humboldt attacked the basket and disrupted Chico's flow, out rebounding the Wildcats 21-16. A gritty and tough first half kept the Lumberjacks within striking distance as they found themselves down just seven points at halftime, 35-28. 

A scoreless two minutes to open the second half for both teams saw Humboldt strike first when Chase Hettinger made a layup to cut the deficit to five points, 35-30. Chico proceeded to blow the game open as they went on a 19-4 run and jumped out to a commanding 54-34 lead. The Lumberjacks responded with a 10-2 run of their own, but the Wildcats' defense managed to stop the momentum of Humboldt's offense to maintain a double-digit lead. Despite out-rebounding the Wildcats 45-32, the Jacks fell to No. 24 Chico State with a final score of 69-58 to close out 2023. 

Lumberjack Low-Down

• Humboldt won the rebound battle 45-32
• Pejan Slater led the team with 13 points on 54.5% shooting and seven rebounds
• Rob Diaz III also posted 13 points to go along with a pair of rebounds and assists
• Isaac Sowell grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds
• Chico had 18 points off turnovers compared to Humboldt's five
• The Wildcats shot 48.1% from the field, while Humboldt shot 36.5% from the field

Records
Cal Poly Humboldt (3-7, 0-5 CCAA)
No. 24 Chico State (8-2, 3-2 CCAA)

Up Next
The Jacks will welcome 2024 with a road trip to the bay area next week for a pair of games against Cal State East Bay (8-2, 4-0 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 PM and San Francisco State (7-5, 1-3 CCAA) on Saturday at 3:00 PM.  

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