CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly Release
December 6, 2001

THIS WEEK IN CSUDH MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 7 CSUDH @ Chico State Acker Gymnasium, 8 pm
Dec. 8 CSUDH @ UC Davis Recreation Hall, 8 pm

WHAT'S ON TAP: The Toros will open up their CCAA conference schedule at Chico State and UC Davis this weekend.

TOROS WIN FIRST OF SEASON: The Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team notched their first win of the season defeating the visiting Sagehens of Pomona Pitzer 59-53, in a non-conference game at the Torodome. Cal State Dominguez Hills opened the game strong, taking a 12-4 lead within the first couple of minutes of play. Senior center Kevin Blunt scored four of his game-high 18 within the first two minutes of action. The Toros were out in front by their largest margin of the half at ten with 6:16 remaining. Pomona Pitzer turned up their game at that point, going on a 13-6 scoring run, that included two back-to back treys by freshman guard Kamau Norman-Terrance, cutting the Toros lead to one, at 25-24. The second half opened in much the same manner , with the Sagehens outplaying the Toros. Pomona Pitzer took a 37-29 lead, three minutes into the half, off a lay-up by Andrew Grant. CSUDH battled back quickly however, as junior Brandon Erquhart hit two jumpers to tie the contest, bringing the Toros to within two, 35-37. The game remained tight until the final buzzer, with five lead changes in the half. Erquhart helped to push the Toros to the top, with all ten of his points coming in the second half. CSUDH was able to edge out Pomona Pitzer in the final minutes of play, mostly due to the fact that they were an impressive 8-10 from behind the charity stripe, with under five minutes to play in the game. The Sagehens were led by sophomore Mark Elder, who had a team-high 14 points, while sophomore forward Andrew Grant added 11. The Toros had another strong showing from Kevin Blunt. The 6-7 senior center had a game-high 18 points and nine boards, while Erquhart finished the game with ten.

FAST START: Senior Kevin Blunt continues his torrid start to the 2001-02 season. The 6-7 center is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Against Pomona-Pitzer, Blunt knocked in 18 points on 8-13 from the floor and pulled down nine boards in 32 minutes.

REBOUNDING: The Toros outrebounded their opponents 32.8 - 31.8 in 2000-01. They are beginning this year's campaign off well outrebounding the opposition 41.0 - 36.5. Senior guard Jacob Poole leads the team with 10.0 rpg while Blunt is grabbing 9.5 rpg.

ABOUT CHICO STATE: Chico State is 2-2 overall and hasn't played since 11/24/01 in a 96-76 loss to Central Washington. The team is led by Scott Land averaging 16.2 ppg. Lee McCowan follows with 14.7 ppg while Jon Henderson and Jason Van Eck are also in double figures offensively with 11.2 and 10.0 ppg respectively. On the boards, MacKenzie Dent paces the squad grabbing 10.0 rebounds per game.

ABOUT UC DAVIS: UC Davis heading into this week is 2-2 overall. They open up their CCAA schedule on Friday against Cal State LA. The Aggies are coming off a tough 74-69 loss at NCAA I UC Irvine on 12/1/01. Leading the way thus far for the Ags is Tyler Boyd averaging 13.8 ppg. Brent Wyse is second on the squad with 12.8 ppg while Jess McElree is pouring in 12.3 ppg. Dominic Callori is also in double figures chipping in with 11.8 ppg. Wyse leads the team on the boards pulling down 6.5 rpg.

POOLE FALLS ON DL: Senior guard Jacob Poole will be out for at least the next two games after lingering problems with his left knee and foot. The 5-9 point guard will not make the trip to Chico or Davis this weekend. Poole, who suffered the injury in the Toros season opener, was averaging 19.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg. He is expected back for the Toros game against CS San Bernardino on Dec. 14.

Current CCAA Season Standings

HEAD COACH LARRY HAUSER Coach Hauser begins his fifth season on the sidelines for Cal State Dominguez Hills. Hauser has compiled a 34-70 career record in four seasons on the Carson campus. During his first campaign in the 1997-98 season, Hauser led the Toros to a second place league finish.

TOROS PICKED TO FINISH NINTH BY CCAA COACHES Cal State Dominguez Hills has been picked in a poll of CCAA conference coaches to finish ninth this season. Defending CCAA champ Cal State San Bernardino was picked to repeat this season with 11 of the 12 first place votes.

TOROS ON THE WEB: You can now access results, stories, statistics and other information about Toros soccer on the world wide web.

TOROS SPORTS HOTLINE: Get all the latest scores, Toros headlines and scheduling information 24 hours a day by calling the Toros Sports Hotline at (310) 243-3174.