CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly Release
February 27, 2002

THIS WEEK IN CSUDH MEN'S BASKETBALL
Mar. 1 CSUDH vs. Cal State Bakersfield The Torodome, 7:30 pm
Mar. 2 CSUDH vs. Cal State Stanislaus The Torodome, 7:30 pm

WHAT'S ON TAP: CSUDH will close out the 2001-02 season this week with a pair of league games hosting Cal State Bakersfield on Friday then Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday. The Toros are even in CCAA play with a 10-10 record after the split last weekend and are now 11-14 overall.

TOROS SALVAGE ROAD SPLIT WITH WIN AT SONOMA: Senior center Kevin Blunt scored a game high 25 points and the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros took advantage of a late second half collapse by the Sonoma State offense to defeat the Cossacks 72-62 in a CCAA game played Saturday night at Cossack Gym. The win gave CSUDH a split of the two-game Northern California swing over the weekend. The Cossacks led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but went ice cold over a five minute span late in the half that allowed the Toros to take the lead. The Cossacks led 51-42 with 6:45 to play but Cal State Dominguez Hills scored the next 15 straight points to jump in front 57-51 with 2:08 left. A free throw by Harvey Carey finally stopped the bleeding, but by then it was too late for the Cossacks. SSU did a nice job defensively most of the way on the Toros' leading scorer, senior guard Jacob Poole, who came in averaging nearly 20 points per game, but had just one point in this contest until he nailed a three pointer that started the 15-0 run. Freshman guard Earl Rowland added 15 points for the Toros.

TOROS LOSE THRILLER AT SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco State won a thrilling contest over CSUDH, 64-61, last Friday night at the Swamp. The Toros led for most of the game and held a 10-point advantage with 7:09 remaining. At that point, the Gators mounted an 11-0 scoring run to take a 56-55 lead with 2:34 left in the game. It was a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the contest. Toros guard Jacob Poole knocked down two free throws with 38 seconds remaining to put Cal State Dominguez Hills ahead by one. Gator forward Jake MacLeod-Roemer answered back with a 10-footer with 18 seconds left on the clock to give the Gators the lead for good. Poole would turn the ball over on the Toros' next possession. Reggie Cooks hit two huge free throws with 5.5 seconds remaining to seal the game for the Gators. Poole's desperation three at the buzzer was off the mark. Poole's 20 points led the way for the Toros. Poole was 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Kevin Blunt added 15 points and 10 boards for the Toros for his eighth double-double of the year.

SENIOR NIGHT SLATED FOR SATURDAY: Three Cal State Dominguez Hills senior players will be honored this Saturday night. The trio of Kevin Blunt, Mario Perez, Vincent Warsaw and Ernie Burries will be playing their final game in a Toros uniform. Kevin Blunt transferred to the program this past year from San Jose State and has proven to be the top big man in the league. Blunt is averaging 17.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg which places him among the top scorers and rebounders in the league. Perez completes his second year after transferring from East Los Angeles CC. Last year, Perez led the CCAA in asssists dishing out 6.0 apg. Warsaw came to the program from Cypress JC two seasons ago and has been a positive role player since his arrival. Burries transferred in at semester break coming over from CCAA rival Cal State San Bernardino.

CCAA LEADERS: The Toros have several players among the top 10 in various CCAA statistical categories. Jacob Poole and Kevin Blunt are among the top 5 in scoring. Poole is third averaging 19.3 ppg while Blunt is fourth pouring in 17.6 ppg. Blunt leads the league in field goal percentage making .528 of his shots. Poole ranks eighth connecting on .467 of his shot attempts. Poole leads the CCAA in assists dishing out 5.0 apg. Blunt is second in the conference in rebounding grabbing 8.6 rpg. In the steal department, Poole ranks second and freshman guard Earl Rowland fourth with 2.4 and 1.8 spg averages respectively. Poole's .841 FT% ranks him second in league while Rowland's .767 mark ranks him 7th. Blunt is third in the conference averaging nearly 1.0 blocks per game. Blunt leads the league in double-doubles with 9 on the year and also in offensive rebounds grabbing 2.9 a game. As a team, the Toros rank third with a .700 free throw percentage. The squad is also third in field goal percentage making .451 of its shots.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Cal State Bakersfield enters this Friday's game on a 6-game win streak and have won 19 of its past 20 games. The 'Runners are coming off wins this past weekend at Chico State (79-78) and UC Davis (72-62). CSUB is 22-3 overall and in second place in the CCAA standings with a 17-3 league record. Senior guard Ramel Curry leads the team in scoring averaging 14.4 ppg. Sophomore guard Lawrence Charles follows pouring in 10.0 ppg while senior center Dock Ellis paces the squad on the boards pulling down 8.6 rpg. As a team, CS Bakersfield is making .450 of its shots from the floor while holding the opposition to a mere .394 FG%. The 'Runners shoot well from beyond the 3-point arc making .386 of its shots. CSUB is outrebounding their opponents by nearly ten boards a game 39.2 - 30.8.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WARRIORS: Cal State Stanislaus enters the week with a 10-15 overall record and are in a two-way tie for 8th place in the CCAA standings with a 7-13 conference mark. The Warriors have lost four of its past five games heading into the week. This past weekend, CSUS split on the road winning at UC Davis (75-67) and losing at Chico State (77-78). Junior guard Jeff Davenport leads the team pouring in 19.5 ppg and grabbing a team-best 7.6 rpg. Sophomore forward Jamal O'Quinn follows offensively chipping in 14.3 ppg. Sophomore forward Brad Watkins is second on the team on the glass grabbing 5.9 rpg. As a team, the Warriors are only making .410 of their shots while their opponents are shooting .458 from the floor.

LEADING THE TOROS: Senior point guard Jacob Poole leads a quartet of CSUDH players in double figures averaging 19.3 ppg. Poole also paces the squad with 48 steals and dishing out a team-best 5.0 assists per game. Kevin Blunt is second on the team averaging 17.6 ppg and leads the team in rebounding grabbing 8.6 rpg. Junior forward Michael Crawford is knocking in 10.8 ppg. Freshman guard Earl Rowland is right at double figures offensively chipping in an even 10.0 ppg. As a team, the Toros are shooting .450 from the field while holding their opponents to .427 from the floor. CSUDH is making .316 of their long range shots but allowing the opponents to a .345 mark from beyond the 3-point arc. CSUDH is outrebounding the opposition 36.0 - 35.8.

HAUSER EQUALS SEASON BEST: With two games left in the season, head coach Larry Hauser has equaled his career-best for wins in a season with 11. The last time the Toros won 11 games was during Hauser's innaugural season as a head coach in 1997-98 here at CSUDH leading the Toros to a second place finish in CCAA play.

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 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.