2007-08 CSULA Record: 12-5. CCAA Record: 6-4

 

Golden Eagles Set To Begin Second Half Of Conference Schedule: Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team, which is ranked ninth in the West Region in the first NCAA Division II rankings of the season, will begin the second round of conference play this weekend with a rugged road trip. The Golden Eagles will play at Sonoma State on Friday night in Rohnert Park and then face defending conference champion Humboldt State on Saturday night in Arcata. Cal State L.A., in the running for its first NCAA tournament bid since 2000, finished the first round of conference play with lopsided wins over Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State. The Golden Eagles are currently tied for fourth place in the conference, just one game out of second place and two games behind first-place Cal State San Bernardino. The top eight teams in the conference will qualify for the CCAA Championship Tournament. Eight teams from the West Region will qualify for the NCAA Tournament and the first official regional poll is scheduled to be released on Wednesday. The winner of the CCAA Championship Tournament will receive an automatic bid. Five of the Golden Eagles' remaining 10 games will be played in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A.'s first five conference games were against teams picked to finish in the top five in the coaches' preseason poll. The Golden Eagles opened with Humboldt State (first), Sonoma State (fifth), Cal State San Bernardino (third), Cal Poly Pomona (second) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (fourth). The sixth game was against UC San Diego, which is one of the teams tied for fourth with the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles got their season off to a promising start by winning both of their games in the CSULA Thanksgiving Classic, beating Saint Martin's and No. 13 Metro State and then splitting their first two conference games against Humboldt State and Sonoma State. The Golden Eagles then won four of their five non-conference games in December. Cal State L.A. has two starters and four lettermen returning from last year's squad that went 10-17 overall and 7-15 in conference.

 

Golden Eagles Ranked In Region For First Time Since 2000: Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team is ranked ninth in the West Region in the first official NCAA rankings released on Wednesday. The top eight teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament, although the California Collegiate Athletic Association will award an automatic bid to winner of its conference tournament this year. Alaska Anchorage is first in the poll, Cal State San Bernardino is second, Chaminade is third, Seattle Pacific is fourth, Northwest Nazarene is fifth, Central Washington is sixth, Humboldt State is seventh, Cal Poly Pomona is eighth, Cal State L.A. is ninth and BYU-Hawaii is 10^th.

 

Up Next For The Golden Eagles: Cal State L.A. will be facing the most grueling road trip in the California Collegiate Athletic Association this weekend. The Golden Eagles will start with a Friday contest against Sonoma State. The Golden Eagles are 8-15 all-time against Sonoma State and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Seawolves with an 81-72 win in the Eagles Nest on Dec. 1. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 27-8 lead in the first half and withstood a late Sonoma State rally that sliced the margin to five points in the final minute. Dejon Prejean had 23 points to lead the way. The Golden Eagles are 1-3 all-time against Humboldt State and dropped a tight 77-72 overtime decision in the Eagles Nest on Nov. 30. The Golden Eagles fell behind 12-1 to start the game, surged to a 40-33 halftime lead, took a five-point advantage into the final three minutes of regulation, but couldn't hang on. The two teams split games last season with Cal State L.A. winning in Los Angeles and Humboldt State pulling out a two-point decision in Arcata.

 

About Last Week: Cal State L.A. picked up an impressive sweep last weekend despite having only seven players in uniform because of injury and illness. The Golden Eagles started the weekend with an 85-66 win over Cal State Stanislaus on Friday. Vincent Camper had a game-high 26 points to lead the way, while Christopher Mark had a 23-point, 17-rebound double-double as well. Demetrius Hazel had 13 points, Tyler Polo had seven points, Eric Flournoy and Trenod Whitfield-Smith had six points each and Junior Rodriguez had four points. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 48-35 halftime lead and led by as many as 25 points in the second half. Cal State L.A. completed the weekend sweep with an 82-51 win over Chico State. Mark had another huge game with 29 points and 16 rebounds, while Camper had another outstanding effort with 22 points and eight assists. Hazel added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Polo had 10 points. Cal State L.A. led by as many as 16 points in the first half before settling for a 34-22 halftime lead and then led by as many as 33 points in the second half.

 

About Last Season: Cal State L.A. lost seven games by three points or less and wound up with a 10-17 overall record. The Golden Eagles were 7-15 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and finished 10^th. Jontae Vinson led the Golden Eagles in scoring with a 23.8 points per game average and earned first-team All-CCAA, second-team All-West Region and honorable mention All-America recognition. Vincent Camper earned second-team All-CCAA honors and averaged 14.2 points per game for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles posted impressive wins over CCAA champion Humboldt State (94-85) and Division I Cal State Bakersfield (70-63) and fell just short in its rematch against Humboldt State (77-75) and in a pair of games against NCAA playoff participant Cal Poly Pomona (77-75, 65-61). The Golden Eagles averaged 76.2 points per game, but also allowed 76.0 points per contest. Cal State L.A. was fifth in the conference in scoring, but only 10^th in defense.

 

Camper Earns CCAA Player of the Week Honors Twice In A Row: Cal State L.A. senior guard Vincent Camper was named the Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 14-20 and captured the award for a second straight week. Camper averaged 31.5 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game. He scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Golden Eagles to their first-ever win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, 122-118, in triple overtime. The 40 points are the most by a CCAA player this season. He followed that up with 23 points in an 80-66 loss at San Francisco State. Camper was named CCAA Player of the Week for the first time for the week of Jan. 6-13. Camper averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists while leading the Golden Eagles to important conference wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC San Diego. Camper started the week with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes of playing time in a 74-72 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Then, Camper scored a then-career high 29 points to lift the Golden Eagles past UC San Diego, 111-102, in triple overtime. He also had eight rebounds and three assists in 52 minutes of action.

 

Hazel Named CCAA Player of the Week: Cal State L.A. junior guard/forward Demetrius Hazel was named the Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 10-16. Hazel put on a shooting display to lead Cal State L.A. to a pair of home victories. He poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the Golden Eagles past Biola, 82-67, on Saturday, Dec. 15, knocking down six of his eight attempts from behind the 3-point arc. He also had 12 points in a win over Waldorf College in an 87-65 win on Friday, Dec. 15. For the week, Hazel averaged 18.0 points per game and made 10 of his 17 tries from behind the 3-point arc. He was 13 of 23 from the field overall. His best stretch came during the first half of the game against Biola. With the Golden Eagles trailing, 20-14, he scored 14 points in less than four minutes, including four 3-pointers. His back-to-back 3-pointers gave Cal State L.A. the lead for good.

 

The Thompson Tales: Cal State L.A. Head Coach Stephen Thompson is in his third year as the Golden Eagles' head coach and his sixth year overall with the program. Thompson was an assistant coach for Dave Yanai for two years before becoming head coach prior to the 2005-06 season. In his first two-plus years at Cal State L.A., Thompson has an overall record of 32-39. He led the Golden Eagles to a 10-17 record last season that included a 94-85 win over California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Humboldt State and a 70-63 win over Division I bound Cal State Bakersfield. He took over the program in March of 2005 following the retirement of Yanai. The Golden Eagles went from one victory in 2005 to 10 the following season. Under Thompson, the Golden Eagles have seen their offensive productivity jump from 59.4 points per game before he became the head coach to 73.3 points per game in 2006 to 73.9 points per game in 2007. Thompson, a Los Angeles native and Crenshaw High School graduate, was a three-year starter at Syracuse from 1986-90, including the 1987 squad that made the NCAA Championship Game against Indiana and the 1989 squad that made the regional final before falling to Illinois. Thompson earned All-America honorable mention honors in both 1989 and 1990 and was the Big East Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1990. He holds the Syracuse record for games played (144) and ranks second in career field goals made (801), fifth in career field goal percentage (.560), sixth in career scoring (1,956) and is tied for 12^th in career steals (184). At the end of his playing career, he was third in Syracuse history in scoring. Professionally, he had stints with the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets and also played in Europe, Japan, the CBA, ABA and the Southern California Pro League.

 

Look Who's Back: Senior guard Vincent Camper leads the group of returning players. Camper earned second-team All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors last season after finishing second on the team and 12^th in the CCAA in scoring 14.2 points per game. He also led the team in assists and was second in the conference with 4.8 per game and was second in rebounds with 5.1 per game. He scored a season-high 23 points twice in his first season with the Golden Eagles. He had a 23-point, 13-rebound, 13-assist triple-double in a win at the University of Redlands on Dec. 16, 2006 and he had 23 points and six assists against San Francisco State on Feb. 2, 2007. Camper reached double figures in scoring 21 times and scored 20 or more points six times. Senior forward/center Junior Rodriguez returns for his third and final season with the Golden Eagles. He averaged 6.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles last season. Rodriguez started 17 games for the Golden Eagles last season. Tyler Polo, a sophomore forward from Don Bosco Tech High School, returns for his second year with the program. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game and started five times.

 

Look Who's New: Cal State L.A. brings in what it believes is one of its deepest and potentially most talented recruiting classes in many years. The Golden Eagles have eight newcomers on their active roster. Senior guard Dejon Prejean, who appeared in 12 games and started three times in 2006-07 for Florida International, comes to Cal State L.A. with one year of eligibility remaining. He earned All-State honors at Los Angeles City College and broke a school record with 41 points in a game. He also earned first-team All-League honors at Mayfair High School. The Golden Eagles have also added five juniors. Louis Hamilton, a 6-6 forward, comes to Cal State L.A. from Los Angeles Trade Tech Junior College, where he was the Co-Most Valuable Player of the South Coast Conference after averaging 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Eric Flournoy, a 6-2 guard, joins the Golden Eagles from L.A. Southwest Community College, where he earned first-team All-Conference honors and was second in the state in assists (8.0 per game). Demetrius Hazel, a 6-6 guard/forward, comes to Cal State L.A. from Long Beach City College, where he averaged 16 points per game. He was a McDonald's All-America nominee out of Washington Prep. Christofer Hart, a 6-1 point guard, also comes to Cal State L.A. from Long Beach City College. He earned first-team All-Conference honors and is a graduate of Long Beach Wilson High School. Christopher Mark, a 6-6 junior, joins the Golden Eagles from L.A. Harbor College, where he earned first-team All-Conference honors after averaging 13.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

 

A New Tournament Beginning: The California Collegiate Athletic Association has added an eight-team championship tournament this season. The top eight teams in the conference will then compete in a postseason tourney. The first-round games will be held at campus locations, while the semi-final and championship games will be held at Cal State San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena. The winner of the tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

What The Coaches Predict: Defending conference champion Humboldt State has been picked to retain its California Collegiate Athletic Association title in voting done by the conference coaches. Cal Poly Pomona is picked second, Cal State San Bernardino is third, Cal State Dominguez Hills is fourth, Sonoma State is fifth, Cal State L.A. is sixth, UC San Diego is seventh, Cal State Stanislaus is eighth, Chico State is ninth, Cal State Monterey Bay is 10^th and San Francisco State is 11^th.

 

Last Week: DNP.

2007-08: Averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 19 vs. Vanguard (12-8-07); Rebounds – 10 vs. Vanguard (12-8-07); Assists – 3 vs. Humboldt State (11-30-07).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

Last Week: Had six points, four rebounds and six assists against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; went scoreless with a season-high seven assists against Chico State on Saturday.

2007-08: Averaging 2.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Is third on the team in assists.

Season Highs: Points – 8 vs. Sonoma State (12-1-07); Rebounds – 4 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (1-25-08), vs. Vanguard (12-8-07); Assists – 7 vs. Chico State (1-26-08).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

Last Week: Had six points and seven rebounds against Chico State on Saturday; had four points and seven rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.

2007-08: Averaging 7.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Is third on the team in rebounding and seventh in scoring.

Season Highs: Points – 16 vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08); Rebounds – 14 vs. UC San Diego (1-9-08); Assists – 3 vs. Saint Martin's (11-23-07).

Career Highs: Points – 16 vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08); Rebounds – 14 vs. UC San Diego (1-9-08); Assists – 3 vs. Saint Martin's (11-23-07), vs. San Francisco State (2-2-07).

Last Week: Had 26 points, four assists and two rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; had 22 points, eight assists and two rebounds against Chico State on Saturday.

2007-08: Averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists. Was named CCAA Player of the Week for the second straight week for games of Jan. 14-20. Is sixth in the conference in scoring; second in conference-only games (18.2 points per game). Is averaging 26.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game over the last six games.

Season Highs: Points – 40 at Cal State Monterey Bay (1-18-08); Rebounds 9 at Cal State Monterey Bay (1-18-08); Assists – 8 vs. Chico State (1-26-08), vs. Saint Martin's (11-23-07).

Career Highs: Points – 40 at Cal State Monterey Bay (1-18-08); Rebounds – 13 at University of Redlands (12-16-06); Assists – 13 at University of Redlands (12-16-06).

 

11        CHRISTOFER HART (G, Jr., Garden Grove, Long Beach City College)

Last Week: DNP-Illness in both games last week.

2007-08: Averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Is fifth on the team in scoring, third in assists and second in steals (27).

Season Highs: Points – 16 at San Francisco State (1-19-08); Rebounds – 9 vs. Sonoma State (12-1-07)); Assists – 6 vs. Saint Martin's (11-23-07).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: DNP-Injury (foot) in both games last week.

2007-08: Averaging 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Leads the team in scoring and steals (29), is second in assists and fourth in rebounding. Is fifth in the CCAA in scoring.

Season Highs: Points – 28 at Dixie State (12-21-07); Rebounds – 8 vs. Metro State (11-24-07); Assists – 4 vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08), at Cal State San Bernardino (1-4-08), at Dixie State (12-21-07), vs. Waldorf (12-14-07), vs. Sonoma State (12-1-07), vs. Humboldt State (11-30-07).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds against Chico State on Saturday; had 23 points and a season-high 17 rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday. Averaged 26.0 points and 16.5 rebounds per game for the week, which were the highest averages in the CCAA.

2007-08: Averaging 8.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Is second on the team and fourth in the CCAA in rebounding.

Season Highs: Points – 29 vs. Chico State (1-26-08); Rebounds – 17 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (1-25-08); Assists – 2 vs. Biola (12-15-07).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists against Chico State on Saturday; had seven points, four rebounds and two assists against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.

2007-08: Averaging 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 18 vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08); Rebounds – 8 vs. Le Moyne (12-28-07); Assists – 3 vs. Chico State (1-26-08).

Career Highs: Points – 18 vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08); Rebounds – 8 vs. Le Moyne (12-28-07); Assists – 3 vs. Chico State (1-26-08), vs. Humboldt State (1-19-07), at University of Redlands (12-16-06).

Last Week: Had 13 points, six rebounds and four assists against Chico State on Saturday; had 13 points, one rebound and two assists against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.

2007-08: Averaging 12.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Is fourth on the team in scoring and leads the team in 3-point field goals made (41).

Season Highs: Points – 24 vs. Biola (12-15-07); Rebounds – 6 vs. Chico State (1-26-08), vs. UC San Diego (1-12-08), vs. Le Moyne (12-28-07); Assists – 4 vs. Chico State (1-26-08).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

            Last Week: DNP-CD.

            2007-08: Has not played yet.

            Season Highs: Has not played yet.

            Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had six points and a season-high eight rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; had two points and there rebounds against Chico State on Saturday.

2007-08: Averaging 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.0 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 12 at Cal State San Bernardino (1-5-08); Rebounds – 5 at Cal State San Bernardino (1-5-08); Assists – 0.

Career Highs: First year with the program.