Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The CR bench looks on during Saturday’s game against Shasta College.

By Ray Hamill — Get ready for an action packed weekend of college basketball here on the North Coast, as a pair of title contending local teams look to keep their championship ambitions on track.

First up, at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Lumberjacks men’s team will host a game for the first time in more than a month, with Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State San Marcos traveling to the area.

The Jacks are 6-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (8-6 overall) and tied with Sonoma State for second in the standings.

The Cal Poly men have won four of their past games and will play Los Angeles on Thursday night at 7:30 and San Marcos on Saturday night at 7:30.

The Humboldt women will also play both LA and San Marcos on the same nights, with tip off set for 5:30 p.m.

The Lumberjacks are coming off a three-point loss at San Francisco on Saturday but are still in the thick of the chase for a playoff spot in the CCAA with a record of 4-4 (6-6 overall), just one win out of a tie for fourth in the standings.

Rounding out a very busy Saturday on the local collegiate courts, both College of the Redwoods teams will also be in action in a doubleheader against Butte College earlier in the day.

The CR men play at 1 p.m, followed by the women at 3.

The high-flying CR men are ranked No. 12 in the state in the most recent coaches poll and are 17-2 on the season.

The Corsairs comfortably got the better of Shasta 85-71 in their Golden Valley Conference opener last weekend while playing their first game in three weeks.

The two-time defending conference champions will be hoping to keep rolling against a Butte team that is 8-10 on the season and 0-1 in conference after dropping its opener at Feather River by a score of 78-77.

The CR women, meanwhile, are 6-12 on the season and 1-0 in conference after opening with a 61-49 win over Shasta.

The Corsairs will face a tough challenge against the Roadrunners, who are No. 4 in the state in the most recent poll.

The Butte women, however, did drop their conference opener at Feather River by a score of 72-61 and are now 15-3 on the season.

Former Eureka Logger Bella Vigil is in her second season playing for the Roadrunners and will return to the North Coast for Saturday’s game.