SAN MARCOS, Calif. – This week in CSUSM Athletics, men’s and women’s basketball will head to Northern California to face Humboldt State and Chico State on Thursday and Saturday.
On Thursday at Humboldt State, the women’s game will get underway at 5:30 p.m. before the men’s game tips off at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars will wrap up their three-week road trip on Saturday at Chico State. The women’s game will start at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by the men’s contest at 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 24 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM (10-5, 7-4 CCAA) at Humboldt State (10-5, 8-4 CCAA)
Arcata, Calif. – Lumberjack Arena
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Saturday, Jan. 26 – 5:30 p.m.
CSUSM at Chico State (11-4, 8-4 CCAA)
Chico, Calif. – Acker Gymnasium
LIVE STATS | WATCH
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars fell in double overtime, 68-67, at No. 5/7 UC San Diego last Saturday night in La Jolla.
•Junior Jon’Nae Vermillion and sophomore Emma Forel each recorded double-doubles in the contest. Vermillion tallied 12 points and 14 rebounds while Forel contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
•Vermillion and Forel are now both in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding in the CCAA. Vermillion ranks sixth with 14.9 points per game and seventh with 9.0 rebounds per game while Forel is 10th in both with 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
•Stephanie Custodio ranks seventh in the CCAA with a 3.5 assists per game average.
•Custodio has the eighth-best free-throw percentage at 78.0 (39-of-50).
•CSUSM is tied for fifth with San Francisco State in the CCAA standings.
HUMBOLDT STATE BREAKDOWN •The Jacks have started 2019 with a four-game win streak.
•HSU notched a road sweep last week, defeating Cal State East Bay (78-57) and Cal State Monterey Bay (64-56).
•In CSUSM’s conference home opener on Nov. 29, the Cougars took down the Jacks, 71-69.
•Alexia Thrower and Isamar Conde are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in the CCAA in scoring, averaging 15.8 and 15.5 points per game, respectively.
•The Jacks rank last in the CCAA in rebounding (31.4), but No. 3 in scoring (69.5) while holding opponents to the second-lowest scoring average in the conference at 61.5 points per game.
•HSU is tied with Chico State for third in the CCAA standings.
INSIDE CHICO STATE •The Wildcats are also on a four-game winning streak since the new year.
•Chico State squeezed out a 77-69 overtime victory at CSUMB last Thursday before taking down CSUEB on Saturday, 75-64.
•In their last home game on Jan. 5, the Cougars defeated Chico State in overtime, 75-67, in The Sports Center.
•Madison Wong and Shay Stark are No. 17 and No. 18 in the CCAA scoring statistics, averaging 11.9 and 11.7 points per game, respectively.
•The Wildcats are tied with HSU for third in the CCAA standings.
THE JIMENEZ FILE •Head coach Renee Jimenez enters her fourth season in charge of the Cougar women’s basketball team, a program that is only in its eighth season of existence.
•In her eleven seasons coaching in the CCAA, Jimenez has compiled a 163-124 (.568) coaching record. She spent two seasons at Cal State San Bernardino after a five-year stint at Cal State Monterey Bay.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 24 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM (4-13, 1-10 CCAA) at Humboldt State (14-6, 8-4 CCAA)
Arcata, Calif. – Lumberjack Arena
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Saturday, Jan. 26 – 7:30 p.m.
CSUSM at Chico State (5-8, 4-8 CCAA)
Chico, Calif. – Acker Gymnasium
LIVE STATS | WATCH
PREVIOUS WEEK •The Cougars fell 92-69 to No. 13/20 UC San Diego on Saturday night after the Tritons scored 19 3-pointers.
•Bryce Sloan led the Cougars with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists while Darae Elliott scored 17 points with eight rebounds and three blocks.
•The Cougars tied their season high for blocked shots with five.
•JR Williams continues to lead the CCAA in steals with 40 and ranks 19th nationally.
•Khalil Fuller is still coming up with the most boards in the CCAA at 8.4 per game.
•Fuller’s team-leading 14.3 points per game rank sixth in the CCAA.
•In conference play, Sloan leads the Cougars and ranks fifth in the league at 14.8 points per game.
•Fuller and Elliott are the top rebounding duo in the CCAA as they average a combined 15.6 rebounds per game.
ON THE ROAD AT HUMBOLDT STATE •The Lumberjacks are currently third in the CCAA standings.
•HSU defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 68-61, on the road on Saturday after suffering an 88-78 loss at Cal State East Bay on Thursday.
•The Cougars are 3-4 in the all-time series against the Lumberjacks.
•CSUSM is 1-2 when playing in Arcata, but they earned a 74-70 victory on the road last season.
•The Lumberjacks are the top rebounding team in the country with 864 total rebounds this season.
•HSU averages 41.14 rebounds per game have the sixth-best rebounding margin in the country at 9.4.
•The Lumberjacks have the best scoring offense in the CCAA at 81.2 points per game while their scoring defense of 70.8 points per game ranks seventh in the league.
•Jackson Strong leads the country with 67 3-point field goals made this season.
•Justin Everett is the conference’s third-leading scorer at 16.3 points per game.
•The Lumberjacks are 9-0 in home games this season and have won 10 of their last 12 games.
WRAPPING UP THE ROAD TRIP AT CHICO STATE •The Wildcats are currently tied with Stanislaus State for 10th in the CCAA standings.
•Chico is currently on a three-game losing streak as it took losses to Cal State Monterey Bay (81-74) and Cal State East Bay (80-72) this past weekend.
•CSUSM is 3-4 in the all-time series against Chico State and is 1-2 when playing in Chico.
•The Cougars have won three of the last four games against the Wildcats.
•Chico leads the CCAA and rank 15th nationally for the fewest turnovers this season with 173 (13.3 per game).
•The Wildcats have a stingy 3-point field-goal defense as the team ranks second in the CCAA and 21st nationally at 31.0 percent.
•Chico’s scoring offense of 69.9 points per game ranks 11th in the league while its scoring defense of 69.5 points per game ranks fifth.
•Isaiah Brooks’ assist-turnover ratio of 3.64 leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally.
•Nate Ambrosini is Chico’s leading scorer at 11.2 points per game.
THE FOSTER FILE •Head coach B.J. Foster enters his third season in charge of the CSUSM Men’s Basketball program after taking over the head position in 2016.
•Under his leadership, the Cougars advanced to the CCAA Tournament for the first time in 2017-18 after finishing the season with a 15-7 conference record and a 20-9 overall record.
•Prior to becoming head coach of the Cougars, Foster was an assistant coach with the team from 2013 to 2016.
•Foster has tallied a career record of 42-32 (.568).
