Box Score

ARCATA -- Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team got its California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule off to a tough start Thursday night.

The Golden Eagles had to battle from behind for the entire game and fell to Humboldt State, 77-60, Thursday night in the conference opener for both schools. Cal State L.A. (1-1, 0-1 CCAA) was unable to duplicate its upset win at Humboldt State in the final weekend of conference play last year. Humboldt State (2-2, 1-0 CCAA) scored the first four points of the game and never trailed.

Cal State L.A. made two strong runs in the second half and sliced a 13-point second-half deficit to just five points, 53-48, with 9:57 remaining following a pair of free throws by Chris Fields. The Golden Eagles still trailed by only six points, 56-50, after a tip-in by Mark Dorsey II with nine minutes to go, but Humboldt State went on a 14-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to put the game out of reach. Cal State L.A. was unable to get closer than 10 points down the stretch.

Fields had a strong game for the Golden Eagles, scoring a game-high 23 points and also grabbing nine rebounds. Dwayne Jones added 11 points and four rebounds, while Carl Hoffman had eight points and seven rebounds.

Kevin Atkins had 20 points to lead four Humboldt State players in double figures. Zac Tiedeman had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Baxter and Elliot Babcock-Krenk had 10 points each.

The Golden Eagles made 41 percent of their shots and the Lumberjacks made 40 percent, but Humboldt State was more effective from the free-throw line, where the Lumberjacks made 15-of-20 to the Golden Eagles' 6-of-12. Humboldt State also knocked down 10 of its 31 tries from 3-point range, while Cal State L.A. was 6-of-20, including only 2-of-10 in the second half.

Humboldt State had a 43-39 rebounding edge and Cal State L.A. committed more turnovers, 14-10.

Humboldt State scored the first four points of the game before Fields hit a 3-pointer to get the Golden Eagles on the board. The Lumberjacks then scored the next eight points to take a 12-3 lead.

A 3-pointer by Trevor Hopkins cut the deficit to just two, 18-16, but the Lumberjacks went on a 12-0 run to open up a 30-16 advantage. A dunk by Fields off an assist from Leland Jones, a layup by Jones and a jumper by Dwayne Jones cut the gap to 10 points at halftime, 32-22.

After Keith Davis opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Lumberjacks, the Golden Eagles steadily cut into the Humboldt State lead and finally got it down to five points, 45-40, after a layup by Chris Robinson with 13:33 to go. Humboldt State boosted the lead back to 11 points, but a 3-pointer by Fields got the Golden Eagles back on track and a pair offree throws by Fields made it 53-48.

The tip-in by Dorsey kept the Golden Eagles within six points, 56-50, with nine minutes to go, but Humboldt State's final 14-2 run finally put the game out of reach.

Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a road game at Sonoma State.