ARCATA – A cagey conference veteran swooped in to spoil the best game of Jason Conrad’s fledgling career. Conrad recorded eight points, four steals, two rebounds and a blocked shot while limiting potential California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Player of the Year Brian Morris to as many points as turnovers (two) in the second half. The 7-foot sophomore and Roderick Hawkins led the Wildcats to a late four-point lead, but Humboldt State senior sharp-shooter Ernie Spada stuck a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:12 left and the 14th-ranked Lumberjacks held on for a 65-60 win Saturday night in Arcata.
Morris scored 15 points as Humboldt State built a 34-24 halftime lead. But Hawkins scored 13 of his 16 second-half points during a 23-11 run spanning the first 12 minutes of the second half that gave the Wildcats a 49-45 edge with eight minutes to play. The senior seemed hell-bent on ending the Wildcats’ stretch of 11 straight road losses against the Lumberjacks. And he almost made it happen with a season-high 23 points, a career-high 14 rebounds (10 of which came in the second half), and three assists.
He teamed with Conrad to form a load too large for the Lumberjacks to handle in the paint. Conrad came in when Terence Pellum picked up his third foul just two minutes into the second half and made an immediate impact. He blocked a Morris shot attempt that led to a Chico State bucket, Sims spotted him for a jumper a few minutes later, and his consecutive offensive rebounds and put-backs cut the lead to 40-39 with 13 minutes to play.
Humboldt State stemmed the tide momentarily, but Conrad corralled steals on attempted entry passes to Morris on three consecutive possessions. Chico State turned the second swipe into Hawkins’ game-tying free throw and the third into Sims’ go-ahead 3-pointer that put gave the Wildcats their first lead at 48-45. Another Hawkins free throw gave them their largest lead at 49-45 with eight minutes left.
But that’s when the tide began to turn. Humboldt State’s Kyle Baxter and Brandon Sperling hit two free throws apiece over the Lumberjacks’ next two possessions. Zach Graves grabbed an offensive rebound and stuck it home to briefly put the Wildcats back ahead before the Lumberjacks transitioned quickly back down the floor for an Elliot Babcock-Krenk 3-pointer that fanned the sellout crowd of 1,850 into a frenzy.
Jay Flores flushed a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats back ahead before Humboldt State re-took the lead with Sperling’s three-point play. Hawkins responded with a game-tying three with 4:44 left, and his tip-in at the 3:08 mark gave the Wildcats their last lead.
Sperling, who hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime when these teams met in Chico earlier this season – a game the Lumberjacks won 83-80 – set up Spada for the game’s biggest shot on this night. He grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled quickly down court to draw the defense, and kicked out to the always-steady Spada, who calmly sank what proved to be the game-winning basket. Ironically, it was just his second bucket of the night.
Chico State twice had a chance to retake the lead, but finished those possessions with a turnover and Conrad’s only missed shot. That was the first of six straight shots that went awry for the Wildcats while the clock ticked to zeroes.
Chico State dipped to 11-9 overall and 7-9 in the CCAA. The Wildcats are alone in seventh place in the conference standings, a game behind sixth-place Cal State L.A. and two back of fifth-place Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. They’re a game ahead of three teams tied for the eighth and final spot in the CCAA Championship Tournament: Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State Stanislaus, and Sonoma State.
Humboldt State moved into sole possession of first place in the CCAA at 14-2 in conference play and 18-2 overall. Morris finished with 17 points and Sperling scored 15.
