ARCATA — (Feb. 5) Austin Nichols scored 30 points and Mark White assisted on 13 plays to lead Humboldt State to a 84-75 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory over Seattle Pacific on Thursday at East Gym.

The win, coupled with Western Washington’s 75-71 loss to Western Oregon, allowed the Jacks to expand their lead in the conference standings to two full games. The Lumberjacks host Western Washington at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Humboldt State (18-3, 9-1) built a 18-point lead in the first half, but Seattle Pacific rallied to within one point before the Lumberjacks responded. Layups by Nichols and Fred Hooks rebuilt the lead, and the Falcons were forced to foul down the stretch.

White’s 13 assists improved the senior’s career total to 508 despite being limited to seven games in 2002-03 because of injuries. He also scored 13 points Thursday, including three from the foul line in the final minute of play.

“We have two All-Americans (Nichols and Hooks), but Mark White is the person who helps make them All-Americans,” HSU head coach Tom Wood said. “I don’t know where we’d be without him.”

Humboldt found its shooting touch early in the game, racing out to a 32-14 advantage. Nichols contributed 12 points in the game’s first nine minutes on his way to 19 total in the opening half.

Jeff Knudson hit a pair of three-pointers for Seattle Pacific to help the Falcons pull within 10 by halftime at 41-31.

The Lumberjacks started quickly again in the second half, gaining a 14-point advantage on Jordan Feramisco’s layup. But Seattle’s Jordan Lee got hot, scoring nine points in a 13-2 SPU run that made the score 56-53 with 12:31 remaining to be played.

HSU answered behind Hooks’ dunk and Nichols’ three-pointer, and White responded to a three by Lee with one of his own to put HSU up 68-59. Another Falcons’ run ended when Mike Bushmaker pulled his team within one at 72-71 with a layin with 3:09 on the clock.

Nichols battled inside for a layup and Hooks scored another to reestablish the Lumberjacks’ margin of comfort.

For Seattle Pacific, Lee topped his team with 24 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Tony Binetti had 11 points and Jeff Knudson 10 for Seattle Pacific, which fell to 9-10 overall and 5-5 in the GNAC.

HUMBOLDT STATE 84, SEATTLE PACIFIC 75

SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-10, 5-5) Lee,Jordan 8-13 2-2 24; Binetti,Tony 3-4 4-5 11; Knudson,Jeff 3-7 1-2 10; Steele,Ralph 3-9 1-1 7; Chivers,Jason 2-7 3-4 7; Bremerman,Dustin 2-9 1-2 5; Williams,Chad 2-4 0-0 5; Bushmaker,Mike 2-3 0-0 4; Cohen,Chris 1-1 0-0 2; Beede,Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 12-16 75.

HUMBOLDT STATE (18-3, 9-1) Nichols,Austin 11-15 5-6 30; Hooks,Fred 9-16 0-4 18; White,Mark 2-6 7-8 13; Feramisco,Jordan 3-4 2-2 10; Shannon,Trey 3-5 0-0 7; Johnson,Kejuan 1-4 1-2 4; Thornton,Kaylin 1-2 0-0 2; Kaatz,Dustin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-53 15-22 84.

Seattle Pacific............... 31 44 - 75 Humboldt State................ 41 43 - 84

3-point goals-Seattle Pacific 11-26 (Lee,Jordan 6-8; Knudson,Jeff 3-6; Williams,Chad 1-2; Binetti,Tony 1-2; Beede,Jordan 0-1; Bremerman,Dustin 0-4; Steele,Ralph 0-3), Humboldt State 9-13 (Nichols,Austin 3-4; Feramisco,Jordan 2-2; White,Mark 2-4; Johnson,Kejuan 1-1; Shannon,Trey 1-1; Thornton,Kaylin 0-1). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None, Humboldt State-None. Rebounds-Seattle Pacific 29 (Chivers,Jason 6), Humboldt State 32 (Nichols,Austin 8). Assists-Seattle Pacific 13 (Binetti,Tony 3; Knudson,Jeff 3), Humboldt State 24 (White,Mark 13). Total fouls-Seattle Pacific 21, Humboldt State 13. A-1400 Mark White ties career-high with 13 assists.