Box Score ARCATA – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team picked up its nationally-ranked defense in the second half on Friday night and will head into the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Tournament coming off a victory.
 
The Golden Eagles stormed back from a seven-point halftime deficit and beat Humboldt State, 69-55, Friday in Lumberjack Arena. Cal State L.A. (16-10, 13-9 CCAA) finished the regular-season in a tie for fourth place in the conference and the Golden Eagles will face San Francisco State in a first-round tournament game in San Francisco.
 
The Golden Eagles have earned the No. 5 seed and San Francisco State got the No. 4 seed by virtue of winning a tiebreaker. The two teams split during the season, but the Gators earn the higher seed based on its win over regular-season conference champion Cal Poly Pomona.
 
Joshua Munzon led the Golden Eagles with 13 points and had a big second-half performance that helped Cal State L.A. erase its halftime deficit. Munzon connected on three 3-pointers and scored all 13 of his points in the second period. Julian Camper also came up big for the Golden Eagles and had 12 points, 10 of them in the second half. Jordan Richard had eight points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, while Willie Trimble and Marc Wilson had eight points each.
 
Humboldt State (11-15, 7-15 CCAA) was led by Thomas Witzel and Austin Bryan, who scored nine points each.
 
Cal State L.A. shot 46.4 percent for the game (26-of-56) and got things turned completely around in the second half by outscoring Humboldt State, 43-22, in the second half. The Golden Eagles shot 57.1 percent in the second half and limited the Lumberjacks to just 21.6 percent shooting in the second period. Humboldt State shot just 30.6 percent for the game (19-of-62).
 
The Golden Eagles are No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 57.4 points per game.

Cal State L.A. completed a season sweep of Humboldt State, which eliminated the Golden Eagles from the conference tournament in each of the past two years.
 
The Golden Eagles had a 47-34 rebounding edge and committed 16 turnovers to 14 for the Lumberjacks. Humboldt State was 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, while Cal State L.A. was 12-of-21.
 
The Golden Eagles also got an efficient game from Solomon Singer, who had seven points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes before fouling out. He also had three of Cal State L.A.'s nine steals.
 
Cal State L.A. scored the opening basket of the game, but fell into a quick 12-2 hole after a 12-0 run by the Lumberjacks. Cal State L.A. responded and tied the game at 19-19 after a basket by Wilson, but the Lumberjacks closed the half on a 9-3 run and took a 33-26 halftime advantage.
 
The Golden Eagles faced another 10-point deficit, 36-26, after a 3-pointer by Tyler Brown, but Cal State L.A. responded with a 14-2 run to take a 40-38 lead following a 3-pointer by Munzon with 14:55 to go.
 
The game was still tied at 46-46 with 10:17 to go before Cal State L.A. went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good. Camper scored on a layup to start the run and James Tillman followed with a dunk after a steal. Camper and Trimble scored baskets with assists from Tillman and Camper completed the surge with a tip-in.
 
Quinton Watkins hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 59-47 with 7:13 to go and the Golden Eagles allowed only two baskets over the next six minutes to put the game away.
 
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Tuesday with a first-round CCAA Championship Tournament game at San Francisco State.