Finishing off a sweep of its three-game homestand, Humboldt State earned its fourth win overall and improved to 4-2 on the season. William Jessup dropped to 2-6. Employing a full court press from early in the contest, the Lumberjacks forced the Warriors into 20 turnovers, including 14 in the first half. By the break the Jacks had forged a 53-38 lead, helping themselves by only giving the ball away twice.
At the game’s start, the Warriors found the nets in new Lumberjack Arena more often than the Jacks, nailing four threee-pointers to claim a 12-5 lead three minutes in. Lucas Birchard drained two long bombs, but was held without another the rest of the way.
“I think the best thing that happened was the way they got ahead of us early,” HSU head coach Tom Wood said. “That got our attention and got us thinking right.”
HSU countered with a 9-0 run that began with Ernie Spada’s three-pointer and ended with his two free throws, moving the Jacks ahead, 14-13. The teams traded leads until Humboldt State exploded again, outscoring the Warriors 22-2 over a five-minute stretch. Tiedeman’s game-high total was supported by five other teammates in double digits, including Kevin Atkins, Kyle Baxter and Spada with 11 points each. Elliot Babcock-Krenk and Will Petty both finished with 10 points for the Jacks, who made 14 of 38 three-pointers for a 37 percent effort beyond the arc. Alex Dimotsantos and Zach Sowers each scored 17 points for William Jessup, and Teven Herd added 16 for the Warriors. Also in double figures were Birchard, with 12 points, and Matt Cassell with 11.
Humboldt State returns to the court Friday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against St. Cloud State at the Mac Martin Tournament in Chico, and will finish the event with a game against Colorado Springs, set for the same time Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on KATA Radio, 1340 AM.