Provided bu HSU.

Humboldt State Athletics:

STOCKTON, Calif. – Humboldt State men’s basketball toppled No. 23 UC San Diego, 80-68, Saturday night in Stockton Arena to claim the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament championship. The victory marks the program’s first conference tournament title since the 2011-12 season.

“We said it last night, and we’ll say it again, it’s all about preparation,” said Head Coach Steve Kinder. “We’re in March, it’s March Madness, and our players are stepping up right at the right time. We have talked about peaking at the right time, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

Saturday’s win clinches an NCAA Tournament spot for the Green and Gold, but the team will have to wait for Sunday’s selection show to reveal the NCAA Tournament field. The show will air at 7:30 p.m. PT at ncaa.com/liveschedule.

The Jacks led from wire-to-wire in the championship game, despite a late rally by the Tritons. HSU shot 66.7 percent from the field in the opening half to open up a 12-point halftime lead.

Malik Morgan ended the first half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Green and Gold ahead 39-27. Morgan ended the game with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The sophomore also led the Jacks with five assists.

HSU led by as many as 18 points in the second half, despite shooting just 50 percent from the field.

Foul trouble allowed UC San Diego to get back in the mix late, but the Tritons were never able to cut the lead to less than nine points.

Rakim Brown was tabbed the CCAA Tournament MVP following the game. He scored a team-high 25 points for the Green and Gold on 8-of-13 shooting. The Fresno, Calif., native sank a pair of 3-pointers and went 7-of-11 at the free-throw line. Brown also finished with a team-leading nine rebounds.

Morgan and Thomas Witzel were also named to the CCAA All-Tournament team.

“It was a collective effort, and we have a heck of a group going right now,” said Kinder. “We have a lot of weapons and options. We’re an offensive threat from top to bottom.

Tritons center Chris Hansen led all scorers with 27 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Hansen went a perfect 13-for-13 at the charity stripe.