ARCATA, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team (14-13, 11-11 CCAA) dropped a 65-61 decision to Cal Poly Humboldt (15-13, 13-9 CCAA) in its regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon at Lumberjack Arena.

TOP PERFORMERS
Keavie Love – 20 points | 6 rebounds
Micah Boone – 11 points | 7 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal
Chris Carrillo – 11 points | 3 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cal Poly Humboldt struck early with three made threes to grab an 11-1 lead within the first four minutes.
• The Lumberjacks continued to attack inside and out, pushing their advantage to 28-6 with 5:51 left in the first half.
• CSUSM found some momentum late in the period, and Keavie Love's fast-break layup and free throw trimmed the deficit to 16, but Humboldt still led 37-21 at the break after shooting 53.8% (14-of-26) to CSUSM's 23.1% (6-of-26).
• The Cougars opened the second half strong, using a 17-9 surge to close the gap to 46-38 with 12:35 remaining.
• Love's three-pointer at 6:03 brought CSUSM within 51-49, the closest margin of the game to that point.
• After another Lumberjack push, Chris Carrillo connected from deep at the 4:49 mark, making it 56-55.
• Micah Boone tied the game at 61-61 with a tip-in dunk at the 1:53 mark
• Humboldt responded with four straight points, including a pivotal three by Wayne Hampton III with 31 seconds remaining, to hold off the Cougars.
   

QUICK HITS

• CSUSM shot 39.0% (23-of-59) from the field, while Cal Poly Humboldt shot 48.9% (22-of-45).
• The Cougars made 30.0% (6-of-20) from three, and Humboldt hit 33.3% (8-of-24).
• Humboldt narrowly won the rebounding margin at 33–31, but CSUSM led the way in offensive boards at 11-7.
• CSUSM posted 15 second-chance points compared to Humboldt's 11.
• The Cougars held a 15–7 advantage in points off turnovers.
• CSUSM committed just six turnovers to Humboldt's 13.
• The Cougars outscored the Lumberjacks 40-28 in the second half.
   

UP NEXT
With Cal State San Bernardino's overtime loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills, CSUSM clinched a CCAA Tournament berth for the first time since the 2022-23 season. The Cougars will enter Thursday's quarterfinal round as the sixth seed and will face third-seeded Cal Poly Humboldt at 5:30 p.m. inside Kellogg Arena on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.