Antoine Griffin Leads Toros to 67-51 Victory Over Cal State L.A.
CSUDH remains undefeated in conference play at 2-0
December 20, 2003

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills senior point guard Antoine Griffin (Long Beach, CA/CS Monterey Bay) scored a game-high 16 points to lead three Toros in double-figure scoring, including fellow senior Geovanny Aispuro's (Long Beach, CA/Cerritos CC) career-high 12 points, as the Toros took a 67-51 decision over cross-town rival Cal State L.A. Saturday afternoon at the Torodome.

CSUDH improves to 3-3, 2-0 CCAA, while CSULA falls to 3-4, 0-2 CCAA.

The two teams played even from the outset, until CSUDH took a slim18-17 lead on a three-pointer by Aispuro at the 10:14 mark. Bolstered by the lead, Aispuro continued to connect, making two additional three-pointers in the next two minutes to account for all the points in a 9-0 Toro run.

The Toros upped their lead to 26-17 on a jumper by junior Eric Crookshank (Vallejo, CA/Chabot JC), giving CSUDH its biggest lead of the game with 7:27 left in the first 20-minute stretch. CSULA, led by four-consecutive free throws by LeMar Ruffin, tied the score at 29-29 with 2:32 remaining, and a Golden Eagle 6-3 run in the final two minutes sent CSULA into the locker room with a 35-32 advantage.

The Toros stepped up their game to begin the second half, outscoring the Golden Eagles 15-7 in the first five minutes of play to take a 47-42 lead. Led by Malik Harris (Oakland, CA/Diablo Valley JC), who tied for game-high honors with three steals, CSUDH held the CSULA offense in check, limiting it to 29.4 % shooting after the break. The Toros, however, continued to hit the bottom of the net, nailing 12-of-25 of their shots after intermission.

A Lamar Lawrence (Hawthorne, CA/Pasadena CC) jumper at the 5:08 minute mark gave the Toros their first double-figure lead at 59-48, and four Griffin free throws and jumpers by Harris and Charles Logan (Moreno Valley, CA/San Bernardino Valley JC) kept the visitors at arm's length the rest of the game, giving the Toros a 67-51 victory and a 2-0 record to begin conference play, the first time CSUDH has started the conference season at 2-0 since the 1993-94 campaign.

Crookshank added 13 points and five boards in the victory, while Harris tallied a team-high eight boards in 32 minutes of play. Aispuro connected for his fourth three-pointer of the contest with 10 minutes elapsed in the second half to give him a career-high 12 points, breaking his previous career-best of nine points set against Cal State San Bernardino last season.

Morgan Smith scored 14 points to lead three CSULA players in double-figure scoring, while Justen Naughton tallied 11 points and 10 boards, giving him the game's sole double-double on the afternoon.

Cal State Dominguez Hills next sees action on Monday, December 29, as it hosts Malone University in its last nonconference contest of the season. First tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Torodome.