Box Score ARCATA -- San Francisco State struggled to finish easy points and found itself in a deep hole Thursday night against Humboldt State. The Gators trailed by as many as 16 points to the Lumberjacks and despite a second-half comeback attempt, SF State couldn't come out of the ditch, falling 78-67.

"We can't keep getting ourselves in these holes," said head coach Paul Trevor. "Humboldt State as hungrier than us than us this evening and wanted to win it more."

With the loss, SFSU falls to 8-5 overall, 6-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while Humboldt State breaks a four-game losing streak and improves to 6-7 on the season, 2-7 in conference action.

Calvin Otiono led the both teams in scoring, racking up 26 points and assisting six times. William Overton, Jr., also finished the night with double figures, putting down 16 points for the Gators. On the other end of the court, four Jacks finished with double digit scoring, led by Darren Turpin with 18 points. 

After scoring the first four points of the contest with a jumper from Winston Demmin and a layup by Overton, the game looked to be starting in favor of the Gators. Tied at 7-7 minutes later, Humboldt State went on a 14-2 run to take a 21-9 lead with over nine minutes left before the half concluded.

Down 21-11 after Demmin cut the bleeding with a jump shot, Otonio added two free throws to cut the lead into single digits at 21-13. Despite the efforts to contain the Jacks on offense, SF State surrendered more runs to head into halftime trailing by a game-high 16 points.

Shaking off the poor shooting effort in the first half, the Gators doubled each of their shooting percentages from the field, posting a 65-percent from inside the arc and 46-percent from distance. As shots started to make their way through the hoop for SF State, the Gators quickly brought themselves back into the competition.

Down by 15 points with 11:58 left in the game, SFSU scored eight unanswered points to cut the Jacks' lead to seven points at 48-41. Although HSU brought the lead back into double digits at 54-43, Overton and Otiono combined for back-to-back three-pointers to bring the game within five points.

After Overton hit his first shot from downtown, he blocked Brandon Woods' effort on the Gators' defensive end of the court and the rebound fell to Otiono. Just like he had in the previous play, Otiono found Overton on the perimeter to bring SFSU back in the game at 54-49.

The Gators even managed to put the game within one possession at 59-57, putting the momentum heading in the Gators' favor. However, the Jacks came back determined to put the game back in their hands and answered with an 8-0 run to once again take a double-digit lead. As the clock wound down, the Gators couldn't get back into their groove, ultimately falling 78-67 

"We need to learn how to compete and match teams' physicality to contend for the CCAA title," said Trevor.

The Gators look to take this game in stride as they head back south to Cal Poly Pomona, taking on the Broncos on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Broncos will prove to be a tough test for SFSU as they continue to find success on the court, picking up a 70-61 win against Sonoma State Thursday night.