Toros Men Lose Heartbreaker at San Francisco State, 71-69
Toros fall short in second half comeback against Gators
January 9, 2004

Complete Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Cal State Dominguez Hills battled back from a 14-point second half deficit, thanks in part to 24-second half points by Antoine Griffin (Long Beach/Millikan HS), only to come up short, 71-69, on the road against San Francisco State Friday night in California Collegiate Athletic Association action.

CSUDH drops its second-consecutive league game and is now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in CCAA play. SFSU elevates to 5-4 and 3-2 in conference action.

The Toros knew they would have to bring their “A-game” in order to earn their first win in The City in nearly five years. However, Cal State Dominguez Hills came out lethargic for the first 12 minutes of the second period going down by as many as 14 points.

However, with the Gators up 57-43 with 7:49 left, the Toros reeled off a 19-7 run over the next five minutes to trim the deficit to 64-62 after consecutive free throws from Griffin. During the run, Griffin scored 13 of the 19 points to highlight a 24-point inspired second half performance.

SFSU quickly went back up by six points, 68-62, after a lay-up by Ryan Cleaves. Griffin nailed two more free throws to make it 68-65 with :55 seconds remaining. Then Saul Lankster (Long Beach/Centennial HS), playing in his first game of the season, was fouled and went to the line and made his first shot. His second free throw attempt was off the mark, but the 6’5” sophomore grabbed his own rebounds and laid it in making it a one-point game, 68-67 with :53 seconds left.

After two San Francisco State free throws made it 70-67 with :34 ticks left, Griffin drained his ninth shot of the half to pull the Toros back within one point with :24 seconds left.

In the Gators next possession, Lankster came up big with a nice steal on the sideline and quickly called a time out with 13.7 seconds remaining. CSUDH came out of the huddle but a traveling violation on senior Malik Harris (Oakland/Berkeley HS) gave the ball back to the gators with just three seconds left.

SFSU made one of its two free throws for the final margin. Lankster’s desperation half-court shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

Griffin led the team with his second 28 point performance of the year finishing 10-18 from the field. Eric Crookshank (Vallejo/Hogan HS) notched a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Toros are back in league action Saturday night taking on Sonoma State in Rohnert Park. First tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.