CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly Release
January 23, 2002

THIS WEEK IN CSUDH MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jan. 23 CSUDH @ Cal State LA Eagles' Nest, 7:30 pm
Jan. 26 CSUDH vs. Cal State LA The Torodome, 7:30 pm

WHAT'S ON TAP: CSUDH enters the week with a 3-12 overall record and a 2-8 mark in CCAA play. The Toros continue league action this week for a home-and-home series against cross town rival Cal State LA. CSUDH will travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday night to take on the Golden Eagles in the Eagles Nest. The squad will then host CSLA on Saturday night in the second game of a CCAA doubleheader.

TOROS DROP HEARTBREAKER AT BAKERSFIELD: The Toros almost pulled off the upset of the year at Cal State Bakersfield this past Saturday. However, a late second half surge propelled the Roadrunners and held on for the 70-64 CCAA win. Ramel Curry sparked a 14-0 run in the second period helping the Roadrunners turn a 51-43 deficit into their first lead of the game at 57-51 with 7:47 to play. CSDH pulled briefly to within three points but otherwise never closed to within one possession of the lead again. For the second half, CSUB shot 57.1 percent from the field while holding the Toros to 32.4 percent. That dramatic turnaround was enough to spell the end of CSUDH's upset bid. Where the second half was all about CSUB, the first half was all about CS Dominguez Hills. The Toros came out on fire on the offensive end, nailing 7-of-11 three pointers in the period while shooting a sizzling 52 percent from the field. On the defensive end, the Toros began the game in zone which stymied the 'Runner offense. CSUB shot just 25.8 percent from the field in the period as the Toros built leads as big as 16 points. While two players wrote the CSUB second half, the Dominguez Hills first half was a collaborative effort. Seven of the eight players who saw action in the first half scored for the Toros, led by guard Jacob Poole (Mt. Carmel HS), who scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the period. With CSDH up 31-15, a foreshadowing of the second half came in the form of a late CSUB rally. The 'Runners trimmed seven points off the deficit with a 9-2 run that made the halftime score 33-24. In addition to Poole, who added eight assists to his team-high 19 points, center Kevin Blunt (Pacific HS) and forward Michael Crawford also reached double figures. Blunt scored 16 points while Crawford chipped in 13. Blunt led the Toros with eight rebounds.

TOROS COMEBACK AT STANISLAUS FALLS SHORT: CS Stanislaus' Jamal O'Quinn scored a career-high 27 points Friday night as the Warriors held on to beat a very feisty Cal State Dominguez Hills team, 83-78, in the Warrior Arena. The Warriors shot 56.3 percent for the game including a red-hot 65.2 percent in the first half taking a 40-35 halftime lead. The Toros, however, never let-up against the Warriors. Cal State Dominguez Hills was down by as much as 13 points halfway through the second half, but the Toros pulled within five points less than five minutes later on a three-pointer by Justin Goree. Michael Crawford's bucket with 55 seconds left to play pulled the Toros within three, but the Warriors were able to finish off the game with an O'Quinn basket and two free throws. Cal State Dominguez Hills was led by Kevin Blunt's 19 points. Earl Rowland and Michael Crawford added 14 points each.

CCAA LEADERS: Kevin Blunt ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding scoring averaging 8.3 rpg and pouring in 17.1 ppg. He is also fourth in field goal percentage making .500 of his shots. The 6-7 senior center also ranks second in blocked shots (1.20 bpg). Freshman guard Earl Rowland is tied for seventh in the league in steals averaging 1.7 spg and fifth in free-throw percentage (.795). Rowland has cracked into the top 20 in scoring sitting at 20th in the league (11.5 ppg). As a team, the Toros rank second in the CCAA in free-throw percentage making .706 of their shots (185-262).

SCOUTING CAL STATE LA: Cal State LA enters this week's two-game series with a 6-9 overall record and a 4-6 mark in CCAA play. CSLA is looking to break a mini two-game slide after posting losses at Cal State Bakersfield (44-65) and Cal State Stanislaus (75-76 2-ot) this past weekend. Junior forward Ronald Johnson paces the Golden Eagle offense averaging 20.2 ppg. Sophomore Jonathan Levy is the only other Cal State LA player in double figures averaging 13.4 ppg. Freshman center Nic Vavakin is enjoying a solid first year in a CSLA uniform leading the team in rebounding grabbing 6.3 rpg. As a team, Cal State LA is shooting .430 from the field and leads the CCAA in free throw percentage making .727 of their shots as a team. A glaring stat that is uncharacteristic of a Dave Yanai coached team is that the Golden Eagles have far more turnovers than their opponents (242-158).

LEADING THE TOROS: Senior point guard Jacob Poole leads a trio of CSUDH players in double figures averaging 18.4 ppg. Poole also paces the squad with 26 steals on the year. Kevin Blunt is second on the team with 17.1 ppg and leads the team in rebounding grabbing 8.3 rpg. Freshman Earl Rowland rounds out the trio scoring 11.5 ppg and is second on the team with 25 steals. As a team, the Toros are shooting .436 from the field while holding their opponents to .428 from the floor.

BLUNT HAS BIG WEEKEND: Kevin Blunt enjoyed a solid weekend for the Toros scoring 35 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Against Cal State Stanislaus, Blunt poured in a team-high 19 points and grabbed eight boards in the Toros 83-78 loss. Against Cal State Bakersfield, Blunt knocked in 16 points and pulled down a team-best eight rebounds in the 70-64 CSUDH loss.

POOLE CAN DISH IT OUT WITH THE BEST OF 'EM: Senior point guard Jacob Poole now leads the Toros with 49 assists averaging 4.9 apg. Over this past weekend, Poole dished out a total of 14 assists including a game-high eight against Cal State Bakersfield.

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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