First-place Cal State Stanislaus holds off Humboldt 70-66
In the final five minutes of yet another close victory for Cal State Stanislaus, the Warriors had four seniors and a freshman on the court.
The seniors had been there before. They were the core of last season’s California Collegiate Athletic Association championship team, and they know what it takes to win in this league, as they showed in Saturday’s 70-66 victory over Humboldt State.
The freshman hadn’t been there before. He just played like being calm in pressure situations is no big deal.
Ten points and three assists in 29 minutes doesn’t sound like an overwhelming stat line, but Christian Bayne brought that plus zero turnovers plus three assists. Most important, the Stockdale High School (Bakersfield) product was on the floor at the final buzzer of another big Warriors victory.
“From the beginning, he’s shown he’s not afraid of the moment,” said senior forward Rob Walters, serving as the heart of this team for a second straight season. “We noticed that right away in practice and how he comes to work every day. You can’t tell he’s a freshman out there.”
Eight of Baynes’ points came in the second half, and his three-pointer with 1:57 left gave Stanislaus a 65-61 lead that put the Lumberjacks on their heels.
“We have seven seniors who have been through it,” said coach Larry Reynolds. “That’s what it takes in the CCAA.
“Christian has earned the right to be out there. Before we got Shey Mataele back at the semester break, Bayne was the starting point guard and he did a tremendous job both offensively and defensively. He handles the ball and he doesn’t panic. He expects to do well.”
Perhaps, right there, is the biggest change in this program. After years of muddling through and aspiring to middle-of-the-road status in the CCAA, last year’s title has carried a winning momentum onto the court at Fitzpatrick Arena.
The Warriors now expect to do well.
The victory over the Lumberjacks boosted Stanislaus to 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the CCAA – good for a first-place tie with Cal Poly Pomona. Humboldt, which had won six straight games, fell to 9-5, 3-5.
The Lumberjacks opened the game with all the confidence of a hot team, as Bryan Austin hit three three-pointers in the opening 2:26, creating an early advantage that took Stanislaus a long time to erase.
It wasn’t until Alec Carlson drilled two three-pointers during a 16-4 run that the Warriors could breathe, taking a 58-51 lead with 7:43 left.
Humboldt twice cut the margin to one point, but Walters hit two free throws to cap a 16-point, 11-rebound night to stop one threat, and Bayne’s three-pointer stopped the other. Mataele was 4 for 4 from the line in the final seven seconds to ice the win.
This two-win weekend is only the start of the key stretch of the season for Stanislaus, which still plays six of its next eight games at home. San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay invade Fitzpatrick next weekend.
“We have to keep grinding at home and get one on the road where we can,” Reynolds said. “We have a lot of experience on this team with guys who don’t like to lose.”
Women
Humboldt 85, Stanislaus 71 – Having crowned five different champions in the last five years, the CCAA spawns a new measuring stick team every season.
This year, it appears to be the Lumberjacks (8-0, 12-1), who won their 11th consecutive game and eighth in a row against the Warriors in decisive fashion.
“That’s a really good senior-laden team, and there were spots in the game where they just picked us apart,” said Stanislaus coach Wayman Strickland.
The Warriors (1-7, 3-9) hung with Humboldt for the opening eight minutes, but an 11-0 Lumberjacks’ run, ignited by three-pointers on three straight possessions, gave the conference’s top team a comfortable 26-15 lead.
The margin grew to 43-26 by halftime and as large as 30 points in the second half before the Stanislaus starters came back to play the final minutes and make a dent in the final spread.
Cassidy Sanders-Curry scored a game-high 18 points and Briana Cotton 17 for the Warriors, who were playing their second game in a row without Jasmine Washington. The junior from Pitman is working to resolve eligibility issues.
Humboldt had four players in double figues, led by Danielle Gaumer with 17 points. The Jacks also received two points from Kelci Haueter, a junior from Davis High who transferred from San Joaquin Delta College.
Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com or (209) 578-2150. His blog
is at www.modbee.com/
This story was originally published January 10, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "First-place Cal State Stanislaus holds off Humboldt 70-66."