Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

On Friday night the Lumberjacks will play in the NCAA Division-II tournament for the first time since 2016.

The Cal Poly Humboldt men booked their passage to the NCAA postseason after a strong showing at last weekend’s CCAA Tournament, impressing the seedings committee enough to be included in the West Region bracket.

But it won’t be easy for the No. 8 seeds.

The Jacks open against the top seeds in the West Region and the No. 2 team in the nation, Cal State East Bay.

It was the undefeated Pioneers who defeated Humboldt in last weekend’s conference championship game in Pomona, winning 80-63.

East bay is 30-0, while Humboldt is 17-14.

Last week’s win was the Pioneers’ third in three matchups against the Jacks this season, although Humboldt has matched up well at times.

The Pioneers won 95-53 in Hayward on Jan. 10, but the second matchup at Lumberjack Arena a month later was much closer, with the visitors being forced to work hard for an 88-84 overtime victory.

The winner on Friday night will advance to the West Region semifinals on Saturday, and take on the winner of No. 4 Alaska Anchorage (21-10) and No. 5 Cal State Dominguez Hills (22-8) at 7:30 p.m.

The tournament appearance is Cal State East Bay’s first this century.

The game will be broadcast live on local radio on 107.3 FM and 1340 AM with JB Mathers calling the action from Hayward.

This is the 15th time in program history that the Jacks have qualified for the NCAA tournament.