CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly Release No. 1
December 10, 2002

UPCOMING GAMES THIS WEEK...
at Cal State Monterey Bay/Saturday, Dec. 14/8:00 PM

AROUND THE CORNER:
The Toros will host Dominican University (CA) on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in the Torodome at 7:00 PM.

TOROS HOLD ON AGAINST CAL STATE L.A.:
The Toros defeated former mentor Dave Yanai and his Cal State L.A. squad, 53-52, behind a game-high 17 points and 8 rebounds from senior forward Andre' Brown (San Jose/USF). Freshman center Ryan Meilleur (Lakewood/Artesia HS) came off the bench and added 14 points, including the final 8 points of the game. CSUDH had a 24-18 halftime lead, but CSULA started the second period with a 12-5 run and took its first lead, 30-29, with 14:36 left. The Golden Eagles stretched their lead to 34-29 before the Toros came back to take the lead, 38-37, on a trey by senior forward Michael Crawford (Pacoima/LA Valley College) with just over nine minutes remaining. There were four lead changes over the next six minutes before CSUDH took the lead for good, 49-47, on a Meilleur short jumper with 2:19 on the clock. The 6-8 center would hit two key free throws and add another basket down the stretch to seal the victory.

MEILLEUR MARVELOUS:
Freshman Ryan Meilleur has been solid in his first three collegiate tilts. Meilleur is averaging 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Both marks place him second on the squad. Meilleur scored a career-high 23 points and had 10 rebounds to complete the double-double in the season-opener versus Vanguard. After a three point performance at Cal Baptist, Meilleur came off the bench against a tough Cal State L.A. squad and chimed in with 14 points and six boards. Meilleur leads the Toros with a .609 shooting percentage (14-23) and has made 12-18 free throws.

BROWN BREAKS OUT:
NCAA I transfer Andre' Brown had his best game of the young season against CSULA. Brown, a 6-5 senior from the University of San Francisco, led the squad with 17 points and eight rebounds, three of them on the offensive glass. He finished the night 8-15 from the floor. On the year, Brown is averaging 12.7 points and leads the Toros defensively with 6.7 boards a game.

NO CHARITY TAKEN:
After going to the line 29 and 18 times during its first two games of the year, the Toros only went to the charity stripe only seven times against Cal State L.A. making four of them.

THE FRESHMEN HAVE IT:
It is quickly becoming a foregone conclusion that the Toros possess the top freshmen in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. This comes as no surprise as SoCalHoops and HoopScoop publications ranked four of the Toros seven freshmen among the top-100 prep players in the state of California. Ryan Meilleur leads the group with an overall state prep ranking of #63 and #13 at his position. Meilleur has lived up to billing thus far with 23 points and 10 rebounds in his first collegiate game against Vanguard University. Unfortunately, three of the four top frosh players have not played yet in 2002-03. Jamel Gay (Carson/Artesia HS), a 6-1 guard, has been slowed with an injury and has yet to see action. Michael Roche (Lakewood/LB Poly HS), a 6-5 forward, is out for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. And Sterling Byrd (Hawthorne/Centennial HS), a 6-6 wing, is a partial qualifier and is redshirting.

LEADER OF THE PACK:
Justin Goree (Fairfield/Foothill College) is beginning his senior season with a flourish. A 6-4 forward, Goree leads the Toros with a 16.7 ppg average. He is also grabbing six boards a game which ranks him third on the roster. Goree has been "lights out" from behind the arc hitting .417 of his long-range shots (8-17). He is second on the team with a .525 field goal percentage (21-40).

OFF TO GOOD START:
The Toros are now 2-1 and off to their best start under the helm of coach Larry Hauser since his arrival in 1997-98. The start is the best since the 1995-96 season under former coach Dave Yanai when that squad began the season with a 10-1 record.

ROCHE LOST FOR THE YEAR:
The program was dealt a blow last week when it learned that freshman forward Michael Roche needs ACL surgery to his left knee. Roche had yet to log any minutes in 2002-03, but he was expected to contribute immediately once he was in the lineup. That will have to wait now until next year at the earliest as the 6-5 power forward will apply for a medical redshirt this season.

ON THE MEND:
Power forward Lamar Lawrence (Hawthorne/Bishop Montgomery HS) and freshman guard Jamel Gay are on the mend and should be ready for action in another week. Lawrence was lost temporarily at Cal Baptist when he injured his foot. In 17 games last year, the 6-5 junior averaged 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. Gay, one of the top freshman recruits in the off-season, is still recovering from a stress fracture in his left ankle suffered during the preseason practice. Gay will be ready to make his Toro debut in a week or so.

CCAA COACHES POLL:
The loss of seniors Kevin Blunt and Jacob Poole, which accounted for 53% of the Toros offense last year, and the youth movement now underway on the Carson campus figured on the minds of the CCAA coaches as CSUDH was picked to finish 11th in the annual preseason coaches poll. There is not a lot of stock put into this annual popularity poll. Last year, the Toros were picked to finish 9th and eventually wound up in 6th-place in the final league standings.

TOROS SPORTS HOTLINE:
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