Season ends for Lumberjacks
Team falls to Sonoma State in CCAA tournament opener
Not with a bang but with a whimper.
That was how the Lumberjacks’ season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon in Turlock. Cal Poly Humboldt faced their travel partner from the North Coast, Sonoma State, in the opening round of the CCAA tournament and suffered 73-57 defeat.
The score partially reflected the reality of the game — an offensive debacle for the ‘Jacks — but it didn’t tell the complete story. The game was a back-and-forth battle for 34 minutes, but in those fateful final six minutes Humboldt was outscored 17-7 as they watched their season slip away.
It ends an uneven season for the Lumberjacks that could on one hand be characterized as a successful improvement on past years but could also just as easily be considered a disappointing performance marred by inconsistency. Whether one takes the optimist’s view or the pessimist’s view, the finish is a difficult result for Humboldt fans to digest.
And in many ways, the final game was a painfully accurate reflection of the complicated truth of the Lumberjacks’ season.
Humboldt opened the game by getting out to an early lead that became an 11-5 advantage after Bryce Mitchell hit a 3-pointer off an assist by Brandon Porter. There was a brimming optimism that the Lumberjacks offense would not be plagued by the same issues that caused their defeat in the two teams’ last matchup on Jan. 1. But that optimism proved to be short-lived.
That lead would ultimately be Humboldt’s biggest of the game and that 3-point shot would be one of just four that the Lumberjacks
made in the entire game as they endured an unprecedented cold streak from beyond the arc. The Seawolves quickly responded to the early deficit with a 6-0 run to tie things up at 11-11. Sonoma took a 15-14 lead moments later, the first of multiple lead changes down the stretch in the first half. But Humboldt’s Porter got the final bucket of the first half to give the ‘Jacks a 30-29 lead at halftime.
The Lumberjacks continued to struggle with their half-court offense and never really found any rhythm. Despite that, they continued to play strong defense in the opening minutes of the second half and only trailed 38-34 with 14 minutes remaining. But the lack of point production eventually began to undermine their defense. Humboldt fell behind by 11 points halfway through the final half, yet stormed back again just a few moments later to cut Sonoma’s lead to just five points as Amari Green had a big 3-point play after being fouled on a second chance layup.
To Humboldt’s credit, they capitalized on their opportunities on turnovers and on offensive rebounds. More than half of the team’s points came from those extra chances as they finished the game with 19 points off turnovers and 15-second chance points. But they could never generate consistent offense.
The ‘Jacks were also not helped by a substantial foul discrepancy that saw them outshot at the freethrow line in both halves. Sonoma shot 35 free throw attempts compared to just 14 for Humboldt for the game. Although about 10 of Sonoma’s attempts came in the final minutes as the Lumberjacks became more aggressive defensively, the disparity in officiating was undoubtedly questionable.
Trailing 56-50 with just over six minutes left in the game, the Lumberjacks entered their final window to generate points but the offense cratered yet again as the Seawolves went on an 8-0 run that would ultimately seal their victory. The final minutes of the game turned into a free throw clinic as Humboldt desperately tried to regain any momentum with their aggressive press defense.
Humboldt’s mostly solid defense still could not contain the CCAA’s Player of the Year, Jaylen Wells. The sophomore finished with 29 points and 9 rebounds for Sonoma.
But Humboldt’s defense was not why they lost, it was their unprecedented offensive struggles. The Lumberjacks were a disastrous 4-for-26 from 3-point range — an astonishingly dire 15.4%. It was shockingly uncharacteristic for a team that came into the game shooting over 35% from deep. The ‘Jacks took 16 more shot attempts than their opponent but shot only 35.5% from the field compared to 43.5% for Sonoma. That was on top of the aforementioned free throw disparity. The 57 total points was the secondlowest total of the season and only the second time the team failed to score 60. Both games were against Sonoma.
Individually, Brandon Porter led the way for the ‘Jacks with 18 points and 8 rebounds, both team highs. The only other player in double figures was Kareem Clark with 10 points. It was a disappointing final performance for senior Marlon Ruffin who had led the way for Humboldt all season. Ruffin could only manage 5 points as the Sonoma State defense keyed on him for the entire game.
Humboldt’s season could be viewed through multiple different lenses. But they all end up staring at the same result: a tough loss that will take time to process.