HSU To Play Pre-season Tournament in Taiwan

**jacksfan** · June 9th, 2009, 10:36 AM

Jacks take down top Taiwan team, 87-81

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TAOYUAN CITY, Taiwan ? Humboldt State put the peripheral excitement of its international trip aside Tuesday, focusing on the basketball court instead in a 87-81 win over the island?s top school, National Taiwan Normal University at the Kainan International Basketball Invitational.

The victory kept the Jacks unbeaten in their pool heading into Wednesday?s game against Corvinus University of Hungary. Another win would propel HSU into Thursday?s championship game.

Tuesday?s contest was a tight battle from the start against the team that was the unbeaten champion of Taiwan?s University Basketball Association last season. With six professional players on its roster, NTNU shored itself up further by adding BYU Hawaii standout ?Jet? Chang for the summer tournament.

Humboldt State turned to its inside presence for the second straight game, and the tandem of Kevin Atkins and Brian Morris responded with 29 and 22 points, respectively. Morris posted his second straight double-double, pulling down 13 rebounds, and Atkins added 10 for the Jacks.

Humboldt led by as many as seven points on two occasions, but an NTNU flurry moved the home favorites ahead, 67-66 early in the fourth quarter. The Jacks responded with a three-pointer from Zac Tiedeman, who finished with 12 points and eight assists despite sitting out a large portion of the game with foul trouble and eventually fouling out.

Fouls stacked heavily in the favor of NTNU, who was whistled 13 times to 23 fouls called on the Lumberjacks. Players from the Jacks? next opponent, Corvinus University, suffered a similar unbalance in their previous day?s loss to NTNU, and were the loudest supporters of the Lumberjacks during Tuesday?s game.

Also contributing for HSU were Ernie Spada, who added 11 points and five assists, and David Howard, who had eight points and seven rebounds off the bench. HSU played without the services of Kyle Baxter, who was held out to help heal an ankle sprain.

**jacksfan** · June 10th, 2009, 06:17 PM

HSU advances to final in Taiwan tourney

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TAOYUAN CITY, Taiwan ? Breaking out another weapon in its arsenal, Humboldt State drained 18 three-pointers in earning a 97-57 win over Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary at the Kainan University International Basketball Invitational on Wednesday.

Ernie Spada hit four long bombs, while Elliot Babcock-Krenk and Zac Tiedeman both contributed three each to the HSU offense. David Howard had two, and was the Jacks? leading scorer with 15 points, while both Mike Kehrig and Spada also finished in double digits with 14 points each. Brian Morris posted his third straight double-double of the tournament, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Corvinus maintained contact through the first quarter, and trailed 21-18 heading into the second. The Jacks boosted their advantage to 40-25 by halftime, pushing the game well out of reach in the early minutes of the third quarter.

With the outdoor temperature at 98 degrees and the humidity index boosting it to 112, according to the local weather report, Humboldt State conserved its energy by spreading minutes equally throughout its 11-man roster. Tiedeman, Colt Mathews and Babcock-Krenk all scored nine points, while Tiedeman and David Broome dished out seven assists each.

Humboldt State finished its pool unbeaten at 3-0, takes the court Thursday in the tournament championship game against Bond University of Australia, which also completed its pool 3-0. National Taiwan Normal University and the University of Tokyo will compete in the consolation game.

**jacksfan** · June 12th, 2009, 01:14 AM

Toast of Taiwan: Jacks claim championship
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TAOYUAN CITY, Taiwan ? With all the pomp and circumstance of an Olympic medal ceremony, the Humboldt State men?s basketball team was crowned champion of the Kainan International Basketball Invitational on Thursday.

HSU earned the honor, awarded in front of a packed gym at Kainan University, by defeating Bond University of Australia, 102-94. Finishing with four wins in four days, the Lumberjacks were pressed to play their best by the experienced and crafty Bond squad.

Having adapted to the 24-second clock and international rules, the Jacks went over the century mark for the second time in Taiwan. Leading the way were Kyle Baxter, with 21 points, Zac Tiedeman, with 20, and Ernie Spada, Kevin Atkins and Brian Morris, all with 12.

Atkins added a team-high 11 rebounds and Morris grabbed nine for HSU. Tiedemaan also dished six assists before leaving the game with seven minutes remaining because of an ankle sprain.

HSU edged ahead, 25-22, following the first quarter and led by as many as seven points early. But the resilient Bond team rallied, taking a 26-24 lead behind the hot shooting of American citizen John Ewing, a doctorate student at the university down under.

At halftime, the Jacks held a 47-43 lead, and gained a 14-point lead before Bond closed within 10 by the end of the third quarter. The Aussies scored the first seven points of the fourth period to pull within three points again, but key baskets by Morris and Baxter down the stretch helped the Jacks prevail.

Bond was limited by foul trouble to 6-9 Matt Zauner, but the Jacks also experienced issues with whistles down low. Both Morris and Atkins played most of the final quarter with four fouls. Ewing finished 22 points to top the Australian team.

Following the game, Kainan University president Dr. An-Pang Kao presented the awards to the HSU, runner-up Bond, third-place finisher National Taiwan Normal University and fourth-place University of Tokyo. Earlier in the day, the Lumberjacks joined the other three international teams in an autograph session, posing for photos and signing their names for hundreds of Kainan students.

**Jackswin** · June 16th, 2009, 05:52 PM

Humboldt State improved with each game in Taiwan, and was much different (and better) than what it showed at the Pro-Am game. The NTNU team and Bond were both very skilled and veteran opponents with former and current professionals playing for them. The NTNU team really wanted to win this event, and recruited the very best players in the nation. Brian Morris is a true team player with a great touch in the post, who also hit big shots when needed. There are a couple of areas yet to develop, such as a backup for Morris, but the Jacks look like they're ready to challenge for top honors this season. This experience definitely helped.

**Seattle Fan** · June 17th, 2009, 12:56 PM

Hi Dan,

Bob Garrison aka Seattle Fan here. Congrats on the Taiwan Championship. Great reports from you and DJ. Question, is there any possibility of a Jacks road trip to Washington-Oregon this coming season? Would love to see this team play.