Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics – Former Arcata Tiger Thomas Nelson in action for the Lumberjacks this season.

The Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball team will return to the playoffs for the first time in four years this week, as they get set to tip off the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on Thursday.

The Jacks qualified after securing a 75-73 win at Cal State Los Angeles in their regular-season finale on Saturday night.

The victory left the Humboldt men in a tie with Sonoma State for fourth in the final conference standings.

Both teams closed out conference play 11-11.

The Jacks are seeded fourth for the postseason tournament, which will be hosted by Stanislaus State for the first time.

Humboldt will open against Sonoma State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., with No. 3 San Francisco State and No. 6 Chico State getting things started at noon.

The winner of the Cal Poly Humboldt and Sonoma State game will play No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino in the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m, with the final scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m.

Cal State San Marcos received the No. 2 seeded and also will have a first-round bye at the six-team, three-day tournament.

“I am extremely proud of our staff and the guys for winning this game,” Humboldt head coach Tae Norwood said after Saturday’s playoff-clinching win in Los Angeles. “It was a win or go home kind of game and we didn’t want to put our fate in the hands of somebody else. 

“We started off slow and went down but battled our way back. We were down as many as 10 points two different times in the second half and I told the guys to stay the course, take one possession at a time, and continue to get stops on the defensive end.

“I can’t be more proud of the guys for getting back to the conference tournament.”

Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on local ESPN affiliate KATA 107.3 FM and 1340 AM.

It will also be streamed live on the CCAA Network.