Box Score

ARCATA -- Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team left nothing to chance Thursday night and set up a showdown with Sonoma State for a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament on Friday night.

The Golden Eagles, facing elimination with a loss to Humboldt State and a win by Sonoma State over Cal State Dominguez Hills, played one of their most complete games of the season and beat the Lumberjacks, 76-63, Thursday in Lumberjack Arena. Cal State L.A. (12-14, 7-12 CCAA) pulled into a tie with Sonoma State, which wound up losing to the Toros. Cal State L.A. and Sonoma State will meet on Friday with the winner advancing to the tournament and the loser having its season ended.

The Golden Eagles also pulled to within one game of Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State and could potentially pull into a tie for sixth with a win on Friday.

First, though, they had to make sure that Friday's game would be meaningful and they certainly achieved that. Chris Mark had one of his best games of the season and had a powerful double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He led four Golden Eagles in double figures. Dwayne Jones had 15 points, Leland Jones had 14 points and Christofer Hart had 11 points.

Humboldt State (19-10, 12-7) was led by Zac Tiedeman, who had 15 points, and Kevin Atkins, who had 10 points.

Cal State L.A. excelled in three areas on Thursday that have given the Golden Eagles trouble this season. Cal State L.A. made 21-of-25 free throws, was even in turnovers at 13-13 and owned a 37-31 rebounding edge.

Cal State L.A. shot 53 percent for the game and limited Humboldt State to just 37 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles were especially efficient in the second half when they shot 52 percent (12-of-23) and knocked down 18-of-21 free throws (85.7 percent). Cal State L.A. was even more accurate from inside the 3-point arc. The Golden Eagles were just 3-of-13 from outside the arc, but 23-of-36 inside of it.

The Golden Eagles led 32-30 at halftime and then outscored the Lumberjacks, 44-33, in the second half. Cal State L.A. never trailed in the second period.

The first half was tight, with neither team able to build leads larger than four points. A 3-pointer by Kyle Baxter gave Humboldt State its last lead of the night, 28-27, but Donte Bell answered with a 3-pointer to give Cal State L.A. the lead for good, 30-28, with 1:35 left in the half. After Leland Jones scored to make it a four-point lead, Tiedeman hit two free throws to make it 32-30 at halftime.

Cal State L.A. scored the first five points of the second half -- all by Mark -- to take a 37-30 lead and the Golden Eagles never looked back. Humboldt State pulled to within three points on several occasions, but each time the Golden Eagles answered. After a three-point play by Baxter made it 46-43 with 10:59 left, Leland Jones responded with a dunk that started a quick 5-0 Cal State L.A. run.

After Humboldt State made one final push to make it 53-49 with six minutes to go, the Golden Eagles went on a 13-3 run over the next two minutes to put the game away. A 3-pointer by Dwayne Jones, a pair of free throws by Leland Jones and four straight free throws -- two by Dwayne Jones and two by Mark -- after a technical foul on Humboldt State's bench contributed to a 9-0 spurt that started the game-breaking run. After a 3-pointer by Tiedeman stopped the run, a layup by Leland Jones and two free throws by Leland Jones made it 66-52 with 4:10 remaining and the Golden Eagles maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

The Golden Eagles will conclude its regular-season with the big game at Sonoma State where a loss means the end of the season and a win lifts Cal State L.A. into the conference tourney.