File photo by Elliot Portillo/Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

Both Cal Poly Humboldt basketball teams were in action at UC Merced on Thursday night, with mixed results.

The Humboldt women got back to winning ways, ending a two-game conference losing skid with a 77-66 win, while the men’s team dropped a second straight game, losing 83-63.

With their win, the CPH women improved to 11-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and 13-8 overall, and they moved into a tie with Chico State for third in the conference standings.

Cal Poly Pomona leads the conference with a record of 14-1, with Cal State Los Angeles (12-3) one win ahead of both Humboldt and Chico with seven games remaining for each team.

The Humboldt men, meanwhile, are alone in third with a record of 10-5 (12-9 overall), two wins ahead of fourth-placed Cal State Monterey Bay (8-7) and two wins behind second-placed Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-3).

Unbeaten Cal State East Bay leads the men’s standings with a record of 15-0 (21-0 overall) and has already punched its ticket to the conference postseason tournament.

Thursday’s win was much-needed for the Humboldt women, who set the tone early and shot almost 47 percent from the field while knocking down 12 3-pointers. 

The Jacks led by three at halftime, before taking control of the game with a big third quarter, during which they outscored the Bobcats 22–13.

They held UC Merced to just 18.8 percent shooting for the period.

Jada Barnes enjoyed a standout performance, pouring in a career-high 22 points to lead all scorers for Humboldt. 

Barnes went 7-of-15 from the field, connected on three triples, and added five free throws.

Riley Sanz had a big night on the boards, grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds to go along with eight points and two steals. 

Her presence inside helped Humboldt win the rebounding battle, 38–30.

Jordyn Smith also impressed for the visitors and finished with 18 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting night while adding six rebounds. 

Next up, the Jacks will play at Stanislaus State on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Humboldt men, meanwhile, found themselves in a big hole by halftime on Thursday and trailed 44-25 at the break.

They would respond with a much better second half, matching the home team stride for stride, but were unable to close the gap.

The Bobcats came out firing in the first half, shooting nearly 56 percent from the field. 

Humboldt had difficulty slowing UC Merced’s interior attack and transition game, as the hosts scored 58 points in the paint and 12 on the fast break.

File photo/Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

Humboldt showed improved offensive rhythm in the second half, shooting 51.7 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.

Shakir Odunewu led the Lumberjacks with 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting night and added four rebounds.

Brandon Bento-Jackson, Zaveion Bineyard and Dorrell Thomas each added nine points, while Michael Sarden provided a spark off the bench with seven points in just five minutes of action.

Humboldt was unable to counter UC Merced’s balanced scoring attack, led by Sterling McClanahan’s game-high 28 points and Elijah Charles’ 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Jacks will try to get back to winning ways at Stanislaus State on Saturday.

Tip of is set for 3 p.m.