The Warriors begin the home portion of the CCAA schedule with a pair of games this weekend. They host Cal State Monterey Bay Friday and Humboldt State on Saturday.

Team Records: 2-5, 0-1 CCAA

Friday
Warriors vs. Cal State Monterey Bay, Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, 7:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]

Saturday
Warriors vs. Humboldt State, Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena, Turlock, 7:30 p.m.
[Live Stats] [Live Video] [Live Audio] | KEFC 100.5 FM

This Week's Opponents

Cal State Monterey Bay OTTERS (2-6, 0-2 CCAA)
Series Notes: The Otters won the last two meetings in this series to take a 13-12 advantage head-to-head. CSUMB is 3-1 in the last four meetings.

Last Time We Met... was on Feb. 5, 2016, in Turlock in a one-point, 66-65, decision in favor of CSUMB. Four Warriors were in double figures in scoring and Kyle Gouveia had 13 rebounds.

About the Otters: CSUMB has lost three straight — all at home … Kevin Warren leads the team with 12.4 points a game. He's made 13 three-pointers (.394) … Two other Otters, Jahvon Johnson (10.8) and Shawn Smith (11.4), also chips in more than 10 a game.

Humboldt State LUMBERJACKS (6-2. 1-1 CCAA)
Series Notes: The Warriors have won three out of the last five meetings against Humboldt State (all at home), but HSU holds a 18-4 head-to-head record (12-0 in Arcata).

Last Time We Met... was on Feb. 19, 2016, in Turlock, in a thrilling, triple overtime Warrior victory, 108-100 … Five Warriors were in double digits in scoring. Vondel Faniel had 21 points and 8 rebounds.

About the Lumberjacks: The Jacks snapped a six-game winning streak last Friday at Cal State L.A. (85-82 loss) … HSU averages 91.4 points a game. Tyras Rattler leads with 16.6 poings and 6.8 rebounds a game.
 

Starting at Home
Stanislaus State men won both CCAA-home-opening games a year ago and look for more of the same recent success to start the conference season. In fact, the Warriors are 6-0 in the last three seasons during conference home-opening weekends with back-to-back games.

Winning Inside the Fitz
The Warriors have done well on home court in recent years even with last year's 5-7 mark inside the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Warriors are 26-12 in home games. They were 12-2 in 2013-14 (9-2 in CCAA play) and 9-3 in 2014-15 (8-3 during conference games).

Remembering Triple OT
It was a barn-burner the last time the Warriors and the Lumberjacks met — here in Turlock. It was on Feb. 19, 2016, when the Warriors finally prevailed, 108-100, in triple overtime. The epic win ended the Warriors' 11-game losing streak with five players in double figures in scoring. Joey Bennett came up big that night with a career-best 19 points. After nearly winning the game on a buzzer beater at the end of regulation, Bennett nailed a trey with 16 seconds left in the second overtime to force a third OT … Vondel Faniel had 21 points, also a personal best, and Stephen Evans scored a career-high 17 points that night.

Faniel Becoming Consistent
Vondel Faniel has been the one consistency thus far this season after seven games as he's averaging 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Faniel has scored in double digits in back-to-back games and has scored eight or more points in all seven contests. In the last three games, he's pulled 25 rebounds, and aside from the one rebound game against Chico State, he's grabbed at least six in every other game, including twice with 10 or more.

...But Mitchell Isn't...
Kaelen Mitchell has shown flashes of greatness — evident in the four double-digit scoring games, including two 20-point games. In those games, he was 26-for-51 from the field (51%). However, he's struggled in the other three games, totalling just 12 points (5-for-23, 21.7%). He's coming off a 1-for-9 shooting night at Cal State Dominguez Hills where he scored three points.

The Same Exact Line-Up
Head coach Larry Reynolds continues to employ the same starting lineup and has use the same start five in all seven games. He's featured Stephen Evans at the point guard with Richard Medina and Kaelen Mitchell as the shooting guard/small forward. The two bigs inside have been Vondel Faniel and Kyle Gouveia.

Low scoring Game
The 42-point out-put from Friday is the Warriors' lowest scoring total since losing a 52-37 game at Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 14, 2011. Stanislaus State also scored just 43 points in a 63-43 loss at home to Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 1, 2012. In both previous instances, the Warriors scored more than 11 points in the first half (they trailed 32-11 at halftime last Friday at CSUDH).