Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics – Madison Parry

Both Cal Poly Humboldt basketball teams will return to Lumberjack Arena this week for a pair of games against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday and Cal State East Bay on Saturday.

The Cal Poly women are coming off a 1-1 road trip that saw them defeat Cal State Monterey Bay 70-59 before barely losing to San Francisco State 54-53.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Jacks, who are now 6-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and 7-10 overall.

The Cal Poly women are currently tied with Sonoma State for seventh place in the conference standings with six games remaining, and they will be hoping to secure one of the six berths for the CCAA tournament, which will be held at Lumberjack Arena early next month.

Conference frontrunners Cal State San Marcos (13-1) and Cal State East Bay (11-1) are well ahead of the chasing pack, but just one win separates the next six teams in the standings, all of whom will fancy their chances.

The Jacks, who still have to play both San Marcos and East Bay, have four of their final six games at home, including key games against both Dominguez Hills (7-6) and Cal State Los Angeles (7-6).

The CCAA men’s tournament, meanwhile, will also be played at Lumberjack Arena, although the Humboldt men’s conference tournament hopes are fading fast after four straight losses.

The Jacks are now 4-10 in the CCAA and 10-10 overall.

Four CCAA teams — San Bernardino, San Marcos, Chico and Monterey Bay — all have at least 10 wins and are in the thick of an exciting battle for the conference championship, while Dominguez Hills and SF State appear well positioned to place fifth and sixth.

The Jacks currently are 11th in the standings, three wins out of sixth place.

This week’s games are set for 5:30 pm. (women) and 7:30 p.m. (men).