HAYWARD, Calif. -- The young North Coast squad of Cal Poly Humboldt opened their first road trip of 2024 at first place and undefeated in CCAA play, Cal State East Bay. With hopes of getting their first conference win of the season, the Lumberjacks held their own against a tough Pioneer team. A one-possession game with just under nine minutes to go slipped away from Humboldt and they dropped the Thursday evening matchup to East Bay with a final score of 78-67.
Rob Diaz III shot an impressive 5-for-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc and tallied a team-high 21 points, while
Sage Wayans notched a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.
A couple of early three-pointers from
Brandon Bento-Jackson put Humboldt in front of the Pioneers 8-6 at the 15:08 mark. Both teams struggled to gain the momentum and pull away in the first half as there were 12 total lead changes. The largest run by Humboldt was a 6-0 run led by
Sage Wayans,
Ramiah Adedigba, and
Rob Diaz III just under the halfway point of the first half, which gave the Jacks a five-point lead, 23-18. With five minutes left to go before the half, East Bay proceeded to go on a 15-4 run to create some separation on the scoreboard. Heading into the lockers, the Pioneers led the Lumberjacks by eight points, 37-29.
The second half was highlighted by the shooting of freshman guard
Rob Diaz III. Diaz scored 15 straight points for Humboldt and made all five of his three-pointers over a four minute span to cut the deficit to four points, 49-53. At the 9:25 mark,
Ramiah Adedigba drew a foul after sinking a layup and converted the free-throw to make it a one-point game, 56-57. East Bay went on a 10-1 run to make it a double-digit lead, but Adedigba quickly responded with four points of his own to give Humboldt a fighting chance with 3:56 to go. However, the Pioneers proved tough and pulled away to earn a 78-67 victory over the Jacks.
Lumberjack Low-Down
- Rob Diaz III shot an impressive 5-for-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc and tallied a team-high 21 points, matching his season-high
- Sage Wayans recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds
- Ramiah Adedigba and Brandon Bento-Jackson both had 10 points and four rebounds
- Tyree Campbell of Cal State East Bay scored a game-high 28 points
- There were a total of 12 lead changes in the game, all came in the first half
- Humboldt out rebounded East Bay 38-34 and had nine steals compared to East Bay's five
- The Pioneers shot 52.5% from the field and 31.6% from three, while Humboldt shot 39.1% from the field and 39.1% from three
- The Lumberjacks had more bench points (14-6) and second chance points (13-12), but East Bay had more points off turnovers (19-11), points in the paint (44-30), and fast break points (11-4)
Records
Cal Poly Humboldt (3-8, 0-6 CCAA)
(RV) Cal State East Bay (10-2, 6-0 CCAA)
Up Next
The Jacks will close out their first road trip of 2024 at San Francisco State (7-7, 1-5 CCAA) this Saturday for a 3:00 PM tip-off from the
Main Gym at Don Nasser Family Plaza.
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