CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly Release
December 18, 2001

THIS WEEK IN CSUDH MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 20 CSUDH @ Hawaii-Pacific University The Blaisdell, 7:30 pm
Dec. 22 CSUDH @ Hawaii-Hilo University Afook Auditorium, 7:15 pm

WHAT'S ON TAP: The Toros take a break from CCAA conference action and will travel to the beautiful islands of Hawaii for two games against Hawaii-Pacific University and Hawaii-Hilo University.

ABOUT HAWAII-PACIFIC: The Sea Warriors enter the week with a 4-3 overall record. They are coming off a 87-76 win over Montana State-Northern. On the year, HPU is led by senior guards Nash Subotic and Nick Spajic who are averaging 15.9 and 15.0 ppg respectively. Senior guard Alvin Stephenson is third on the squad chipping in 7.3 ppg. On the borards, Nate Block leads the Sea Warriors pulling down 5.6 rpg. As a team, HPU makes .427 of their shots and .325 of their long-range shots. They are outrebounding their opponents 37.0 - 33.6.

ABOUT HAWAII-HILO: Hawaii-Hilo enters the week with a 5-2 record. The Vulcans are coming off a 90-89 victory over Lincoln University this past weekend. The team is paced by five players averaging in double figures. Senior guard Scott Prather leads all scoring at a 18.6 ppg clip. Junior guard David LaQua, who is coming off a 37-point performance in the win over Lincoln, is averaging 16.6 ppg. Junior Derek Mgbeke is averaging 13.1 ppg while Kyle Bartholomew and Brady Hyde are pouring in 11.6 and 10.6 ppg respectively. On the boards, Bartholomew leads the Vulcans grabbing 6.6 rpg. As a team, UHH is making .467 of their shots from the field and .327 of their long-range attempts.

COYOTES TOO STRONG FOR TOROS IN SECOND HALF: Trailing 39-36 to Cal State Dominguez Hills with 11:19 to play in the game, Cal State San Bernardino was looking for someone to pull them out of their doldrums. They found a "Ray" of hope in reserve wing Lance Ray. The 6-4 junior from Twentynine Palms was inserted in the lineup and immediately hit a 3-pointer to tie the game and the Coyotes went on a 20-0 run over the next six minutes as they defeated the Toros 66-50 before 780 fans in Coussoulis Arena Friday night. The loss dropped CSUDH to 1-4 overall, 0-3 in the CCAA. The Coyotes, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 6 in the nation, improved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Ray was unstoppable, hitting eight of 11 from the field, including four of five from three-point range and collecting six rebounds -- all in the second half for his best performance in two seasons and one the Coyotes needed. He scored 13 of the Coyotes 20 points in that victory run. Ray had 24 in a win over the Toros on Feb. 18, 2000. With Earl Rowland and Kevin Blunt doing the damage, the Toros led at the half 28-26. Rowland finished with 14 points and three rebounds to go with four assists while Blunt finished with 13 points. He matched his CCAA-leading rebound average with nine boards before fouling out late in the second half. Lamar Lawrence contributed seven rebounds to the Toros cause. The Toros outshot the Coyotes, 41 percent to 38 percent but the Coyotes had a 34-30 edge on the boards. James Taylor had 10 points and five rebounds while Glenn Summerall had 11 points and three assists.

BRONCOS SEND TOROS TO FOURTH LOSS IN A ROW: The Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team has yet to hit on all cylinders in the early going of the 2001-02 season. As a result, they are 0-4 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action after their 71-62 defeat at Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday night. Down by eight points at the half, 33-25, the Toros were able to get as close as six points in the second period but would get no closer as turnovers midway through the second half sealed their fate. Leading the squad once again was senior center Kevin Blunt with 21 points and eight rebounds, five of them on the offensive end. Freshman guard Earl Rowland poured in a career-high 18 points and was perfect at the line going 10-10. As a team, the Toros shot .408 from the field (20-49) and were outrebounded 42-30 by the Broncos.

CRAWFORD ADDED TO ROSTER: Michael Crawford, a 6-6 junior forward, has been added to the 2001-02 Toros roster. Crawford comes to the program from Los Angeles Valley College where he played for the Monarchs for two seasons. During his sophomore season, Crawford averaged 14.6 ppg and led the squad in rebounding averaging 6.9 rpg. A two-time First Team All-Western State Conference selection, Crawford earned All-State honors as a sophomore. He also earned All-State Tournament accolades as a freshman.

CCAA LEADERS: Senior center Kevin Blunt continues his solid start in a Toros uniform. He is among the leaders in several CCAA statistical categories. Blunt ranks third in the conference in scoring pouring in 18.5 ppg. He is second overall in rebounding grabbing 9.0 rpg. He is also third in field goal percentage making .545 of his shots and is sixth in free throw percentage making .794 of his charity attempts. Senior point guard Mario Perez ranks fifth in the CCAA dishing out 3.4 apg. Freshman guard Earl Rowland is fourth in the league in steals swiping 2.0 spg and is ninth with a .792 percentage at the free throw line.

POOLE BACK IN LINEUP: Senior guard Jacob Poole, who has sat out the last five games due to left knee/foot injuries, is nearly 100% healthy and will be ready to play this weekend. The 5-9 point guard suffered the injury in the Toros season opener and was averaging 19.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg.

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.

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