Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

An exciting season continued for the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball team on Thursday night, while the College of the Redwoods suffered a disappointing loss in a key showdown.

The Jacks welcomed Cal Poly Pomona to Lumberjack Arena and came storming back from a 22-point deficit on the way to an 85-81 overtime victory.

With the win, which was their third straight and seventh in eight games, the Jacks improved to 8-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (10-7 overall) and move into a two-way tie with Dominguez Hills for second in the standings.

The CR men, however, traveled to Feather River with the Golden Valley Conference lead on the line and lost 78-65 to drop into second.

The loss was the first in conference play for Redwoods, which dropped to 3-1 in the GVC and 14-8 overall, while Feather River improved to 4-0 and 15-7.

The CR men, who had won four straight heading into the game, trailed by just one at halftime (41-40) but the game would get away from them after the break.

“We felt good about our execution of the game plan and the quality of looks we were getting offensively,” CR head coach Justin Claus said. “Going into the second half we knew the key would be maintaining both physical and mental toughness as the game wore on.

“Unfortunately we didn’t do a good enough job of that. The physical demands of keeping Feather River off the glass and consistently breaking their press began to wear on us, and we allowed fatigue to impact our decision making.

“As a result, we didn’t play with the same clarity or toughness in the second half.”

No scoring stats were immediately available for the CR men, who will try to get back on track when they close out the first half of conference play at Lassen (1-2, 3-17) on Saturday.

Despite the loss, Redwoods remains two wins ahead of third-placed Butte and Lassen (both 1-2) in the conference standings, although those two teams have a game in hand.

After Saturday’s game, the CR men will play three of their final five GVC games at home, including a rematch with Feather River on Feb. 11.

The Cal Poly Humboldt men, meanwhile, continue to be one of the more exciting teams here on the North Coast this winter.

Thursday’s win was their second in OT this month and their third on the season.

The Lumberjacks, who trailed by 22 points in the first half, were 10 points adrift (45-35) at the interval, but would claw their way back with a big second half, thanks to some relentless defense and timely shooting, led by Rob Jenkins and Drew Ardouin.

Jenkins finished with a game-high 23 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and adding four steals, while Ardouin came off the bench and delivered a massive spark, knocking down five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points.

The hosts would outscore Pomona 12-8 in overtime to take the win.

Pomona dropped to 4-7 in the CCAA and 9-8 overall.

The Jacks will be back in the Lumberjack Arena on Saturday afternoon, when they host Cal State San Bernardino at 3 p.m.

File photo