Late basket sinks Humboldt
Unfortunate slip results in 81-80 loss for 'Jacks men against CSLA
The Cal Poly Humboldt men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker on Thursday 81-80 against Cal State Los Angeles, with the Golden Eagles scoring the game-winning bucket with just 2.1 seconds remaining, dropping the `Jacks to 3-17 in conference and 6-19 on the season as a whole.
After winning two games last week, Humboldt's men's team faced off against a 19-7 Golden Eagles team and the `Jacks came out firing. Freshman guard Brandon Bento-Jackson drilled four firsthalf threes as Humboldt built a 49-43 lead at the half.
Humboldt stuck with their small-ball lineup that saw success last week, with 6'3” senior Kareem Clark starting at power forward. Despite going small, the `Jacks still managed to outrebound Cal State LA 22-20 but 22 Humboldt turnovers proved too costly to overcome.
Cal State LA played full-court defense, forcing the `Jacks to work to just get the ball off the court. The first offensive possession of the second half resulted in a fivesecond violation when Humboldt couldn't inbound the basketball, which served as an omen for the second half for the `Jacks as LA began the half with a 6-0 run.
“Just disappointed with the way we started the second half,” `Jacks head coach Chris Tifft said. “14 turnovers in the second half was really detrimental and it wasn't just all in the press.”
Humboldt got those six points right back when Bento-Jackson knocked down two more threes. The `Jacks had one of their better shooting performances Thursday, shooting 58% from the field and 55% on threes as did Cal State LA, shooting 57.9% overall and going 5-12 from three. The difference was in the paint where the
Golden Eagles would outscore Humboldt 52-28.
“I just told the guys, we can't let a team come in here and shoot 57% on the floor and have 22 turnovers, it's just not good basketball,” Tifft said. “We need a lot of help at the 4 and the 5 position, we've lost too many bodies and just couldn't overcome it.”
Humboldt is without three big men that they started the season with, graduate student Cam Timmons and freshman Pejan Slater both missed Thursday's game with injuries and post player Jordahn Johnson left the team earlier this semester leaving the `Jacks frontcourt thin and filled with players playing outside of their normal position.
“We just got guys doing the best that they can in positions that they don't belong in,” Tifft said. “It's just where we're at right now.”
With 3:20 left in the game, Humboldt freshman Sage Wayans hit a three to even the game 75-75. Then with 43 seconds left, Humboldt trailed by three but Bento-Jackson stole the Golden Eagles inbound pass and took it to the basket for a layup to bring the `Jacks to within one.
“He competes,” Tifft said on Bento-Jackson, after the freshman's 20-point outing Thursday. “He sets the tone for us defensively. He's done a much better job of listening and being vocal on the floor.”
On the next LA possession, Humboldt was attempting to intentionally foul but the refs didn't call it, the LA ball handler double-dribbled after expecting the foul to be called, which Tifft admitted postgame to be a break for Humboldt, gifting Humboldt the ball back down one with 29 seconds remaining.
Reigning CCAA men's basketball player of the week, Humboldt junior Ramiah Adedigba missed a jump shot but Wayans gathered the offensive rebound and drew a foul, getting sent to the free throw line with a chance to tie and take the lead. Wayans did just that as the freshman hit both free throws.
After a Cal State LA timeout, the Golden Eagles had to go the length of the court in 7.1 seconds, and that's exactly what they did. Adedigba was guarding his man but tripped over the foot of teammate freshman Isaac Sowell.
Adedigba's slip gave Cal State LA the advantage they needed as they sprinted down the court, with two `Jacks defenders going to the ball, leaving a Golden Eagle unaccounted for underneath the basket, who scored the go-ahead layup with only 2.1 to play.
“Gotta protect against the shot and they probably just instinctively went to the ball. We're just not experienced enough to know that we got to protect the rim and not let a layup take place,” Tifft said of the final defensive possession.
Humboldt did not have any timeouts to call, they inbounded the ball to Bento-Jackson who dribbled to about midcourt and did not get the last-second shot off in time, his shot was off target in another close loss for the `Jacks.
“They're not overlooking us, they're playing for the NCAA tournament postseason berth,” Tifft said of Cal State Los Angeles needing wins even after securing a spot in the CCAA conference tournament. “There's a lot of positives, there's a silver lining. It's just disappointing to lose the game, especially in that fashion.”