This Week in Toros Men's Basketball
January 17, 2006

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This Week in Toros Basketball: The Toros continue CCAA play with road games this weekend, traveling to UC San Diego on Friday and to reigning co-CCAA champion Cal State San Bernardino the next night. First tip for both contests is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Toros Split Last Weekend’s Homestand: The Toros split a pair of home games last weekend, taking a 92-89 win over CS Stanislaus on Friday before dropping an 80-76 barnburner against Chico State the next night.

On Friday, Carlos Rivers and Mario Malave combined for 54 points as CSUDH snapped its two-game skid. Rivers connected for 10-of-13 from the field en route to 29 pints, while Malave added 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting as the Toros shot a sizzling 60.7% from the field, holding the Warriors to a subpar 36.4% in the win, including just 13-of-41 (31.7%) from behind the arc.

The next night against Chico State, Rivers again tallied team-high scoring honors with 21 points, but two turnovers in the game’s final three minutes sealed the Toros’ fate in dropping the four-point decision to the Wildcats. Malave added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Durwin Williams notched the game’s sole double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, but CSUC enjoyed a +10 differential in points off turnovers, shifting the game’s balance towards Chico State.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best: Here’s a quick look at how the Toros stack up against the rest of the CCAA, with games played through January 14: Steals - Mike Steed (4th, 1.7 spg), Carlos Rivers (T11th, 1.2 spg), Shamont Brown (T17th, 1.2 spg); FG% - Mario Malave (5th, 55%), Shamont Brown (7th, 55%); Carlos Rivers (17th, 45%); Scoring - Mario Malave (6th, 16.9 ppg), Carlos Rivers (10th, 14.5 ppg); Shamont Brown (28th, 10.1 ppg); Assists - Carlos Rivers (7th, 4.0 apg), Shamont Brown (T12th, 3.1 apg); Rebounds - Shamont Brown (8th, 6.4 rpg), Durwin WIlliams (14th, 5.2 rpg), Mario Malave (T15th, 5.0 rpg); Assist/Turnover Ratio - Carlos Rivers (13th, 1.33); Shamont Brown (14th, 1.32); 3-Pt. FG Made: Jonathan Toliver (T15th, 1.6 pg), Carlos Rivers (17th, 1.5 pg).

The Spirit of ‘76: The United States may have declared its independence in ‘76, but that number hasn’t been a welcome sight for the Toros lately. The Toros have scored 76 points in three of the last four contests, and have lost each of those games.

Hard to Guard: Junior point guard Carlos Rivers has been a man on a mission of late. After scoring a total of 15 points in his first two contests in Cardinal & Gold, Rivers has led the Toros in scoring the past three games, exploding for 22-, 29- and 21-point outbursts. In those contests, he is shooting a sizzling 63% from the field (27-for-43), 50% from the 3-point land (6-for-12) and 92% from the free throw line (12-of-13). Additionally, the Long Beach native has put up his two best assist performances in the last two games, dishing eight dimes against Cal State Stanislaus, and seven against Chico State.

In the win against the Warriors, Rivers drained 10-of-13 shots from the field and all seven free throws attempted, following that effort with an 8-of-16 performance from the floor and a 3-for-4 effort from the charity stripe against the Wildcats.

What a Difference a Start Makes: Shamont Brown has come on strong as of late, earning a starting nod in the Toros past nine games. In those contests, the 6’4” junior has established himself as a legitimate scoring threat, notching double-digits in six of those contests while averaging 12.4 points. Additionally, he has pulled down an average of 6.7 boards per contest, raising his season average on the glass to 6.4 per game.

On the season, Brown has tallied highs of 20 points and 12 boards while shooting for 55% from the field.

Rebound Central: After six games of being out-rebounded by 38 boards to start the season, the Toros’ hard work is starting to pay off on the glass. During the first six games, CSUDH had out-rebounded its opponents in only two games, each by one board, while tying in the rebound category one time. Alarmingly, in the three other contests in which CSUDH was out-rebounded, the Toros were bested by eight boards in one contest, and by 14 and 18 in the other two.

However, CSUDH has taken charge of the boardroom in its past six contests, collecting a total of 55 more boards than their opponents to give CSUDH an overall rebounding edge for the year (34.8 to 33.3).

Making His Case: After seeing action in two games off the bench to begin the 2005-06 campaign, Durwin Williams made his first four starts in Cardinal & Gold the last seven games, and the Compton native has not disappointed. In those four starts, the 6’7” forward has averaged 12.3 points per game on 17-of-31 shooting from the field (55%), including two makes from behind the 3-point arc. Additionally, Williams has been solid from the line, sinking 13-of-14 from the charity stripe, and steady on the boards, tallying 6.5 rebounds per game as a starter. In last weekend’s contests, Williams came off the bench and poured in 11 and 10 points against CSUS and CSUC, including 10 boards on Saturday in the loss to the Wildcats.

On the season, Williams is averaging 8.7 points and 5.2 boards per game, including a season-high 10 rebounds twice, in the Toros 91-65 win over Hope International on December 17 and in the aforementioned contest against Chico State.

A Tale of Two Teams: Continuing the strong offensive effort that closed 2005, CSUDH has maintained its solid production on the offensive end as it travels to UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino this weekend. The Toros are shooting nearly 50% from the field (48.6%), and boast seven players whose percentages from the floor are at least 47%: Trevon Bryant (57%), Mario Malave (55%), Shamont Brown (55%), Durwin Williams (54%), Murphy Cooper (52%), Eric Montgomery (48%) and Mike Steed (47%).

Defensively, however, the Toros are allowing teams a 47% success rate from the floor, including a 37% clip from behind the 3-point line. Additionally, the charity stripe has not been so charitable for the Toros as CSUDH has drained just 65% of its shots from the foul line, while the opponents are connecting on 72% of their free throws.

A Matter of Size: In addition to having 10 new faces, this year’s Toros squad also has an influx of size. Four of the newcomers stand at least 6’7”, compared to last year’s squad, whose tallest player stood at 6’7”. Junior transfer Trevon Bryant tops the Toros with his 6’9” frame, while fellow junior transfer Joe Johnson stands in at 6’8”. Two other juniors make the 6’7” height, as Mario Malave and Durwin Williams will give CSUDH both a presence and depth in the paint the Toros have not seen for a while. For good measure, senior Eric Montgomery comes in at 6’6”, while freshman Jonathan Toliver is at 6’5”.

Toros Continue 2005-06 Basketball Web Cast Schedule With Waldcast.net: CSUDH and Waldcast.net continue their broadcast schedule for the Toros 2005-06 men’s basketball seasons. A total of 15 men’s games will be web cast, including two preseason exhibition contests, all of which can be heard here on the Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics Website.

The next web cast is scheduled for Saturday, January 21, at Cal State San Bernardino.

Longtime southland broadcaster Ronnie Wald, who begins his third year as the basketball broadcast voice of the Toros, will be calling the play-by-play.