This Week in Toros Men's Basketball
January 30, 2006

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This Week in Toros Basketball: The Toros have a tough home stand this week, facing Chaminade (Region’s No. 3) on Monday, Sonoma State (Region’s No. 4) on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday, with first tip for all games scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Torodome.

Toros Take Two at Home: The Toros returned home last week and enjoyed the fruits of the Torodome, taking a 58-55 nail-biter from co-CCAA champs Cal Poly Pomona on Wednesday before holding off a game Cal State Monterey Bay club, 77-68, two nights later.

Mario Malave scored a game-high 22 points as the Toros shot 60.9% from the field in the second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit against CPP, turning it into a three-point win. Malave finished on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and added eight boards in the win. Shamont Brown chipped in 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Steed connected on all four free throws attempted in leading the Toros to a 76.9 success rate from the charity stripe. CSUDH benefited from the Broncos’ poor shooting from the foul line as CPP converted just 2-of-8 foul shots.

Two nights later against CSUMB, Malave’s 11-of-15 effort from the foul line en route to 26 total points helped the Toros hold off a competitive Otter club. Durwin Williams tallied the game’s sole double-double of 17 points and 14 boards as CSUDH free throws down the stretch kept CSUMB at bay as time wound down. The Toros used their size and efficiency for a 26-16 advantage in the paint, and 10 more points off Otter turnovers. Freshman Jonathan Toliver chipped in 10 points in the Toros win, while Carlos Rivers, playing limited minutes after returning from the flu, sank all three floor attempts and 3-of-4 shots from the foul line, dishing two assists against zero turnovers.

Malave Named CCAA Player of the Week: After averaging 24.0 points in the Toros two wins last week over Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay, Mario Malave picked up his first-career CCAA Player of the Week nod (Jan. 23-29).

A 6’7” junior from Emeryville, Malave scored 11 points in each half to finish with 22 on 55.6 percent shooting (10 for 18), adding eight rebounds, a blocked shot and an assist as the Toros edged Pomona, 58-55. Two nights later, Malave tallied 26 points, five rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and steal in CSUDH’s 77-68 win over CSU Monterey Bay. He hit six free throws in the final three minutes to secure the victory for the Toros, who are riding a modest two-game winning streak. Malave averaged 24.0 points on 47 percent shooting (17-for-36), 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocked shots over the two games.

20-Something: Speaking of Malave, the junior has been a consistent go-to player for the Toros. In just his first year in Cardinal & Gold, Malave has enjoyed 11 games with at least 10 points scored, and seven contests with at least 20 points to his credit.

In fact, Malave has been a barometer for the Toros of sort. In the six wins, the 6’7” forward has averaged 22.3 points per contest, shooting 54% from the field 70% from the foul line while grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game. In the 10 losses, however, Malave has contributed 13.3 points on 53% shooting from the field and 61% from the foul line, collecting 1.3 less rebounds a game for the Toros.

Ain’t Nothing But a Block Party, Ya’ll: The CCAA is finding out what head coach Damaine Powell has known for some time now - Trevon Bryant is a blocking machine. After registering just nine blocks in the Toros first seven contests, Bryant has collected 11 blocks in the past four games, including a season-high four in the win against Cal Poly Pomona last Wednesday, and three each in the road contests against UCSD and CSUSB the week prior.

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 28:

• Scoring - Mario Malave (6th, 17.1 ppg), Carlos Rivers (11th, 13.7 ppg); Shamont Brown (28th, 9.8 ppg);
• FG% - Shamont Brown (6th, 54%), Mario Malave (8th, 54%); Carlos Rivers (17th, 44%);
• Steals - Carlos Rivers (7th, 1.5 spg), Mike Steed (11th, 1.5 spg);
• Assists - Carlos Rivers (9th, 3.8 apg), Shamont Brown (18th, 2.6 apg);
• FT% - Mario Malave (9th, 67%);
• Rebounds - Shamont Brown (9th, 6.1 rpg), Durwin Williams (11th, 5.8 rpg), Mario Malave (16th, 5.1 rpg);
• Assist/Turnover Ratio - Carlos Rivers (13th, 1.24);
• 3-Pt. FG Made: Jonathan Toliver (15th, 1.5 pg);
• Blocks - Durwin Williams (19th, 0.42 bpg).

Rebound Central: After six games of being out-rebounded by 38 boards to start the season, the Toros’ hard work is paying 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 10 contests, collecting a total of 65 more boards than their opponents to give CSUDH an overall rebounding edge for the year (34.1 to 32.1).

Making His Case: After seeing action in two games off the bench to begin the 2005-06 campaign, Durwin Williams made his first seven starts in Cardinal & Gold the last 10 games played, and the Compton native has not disappointed. In those seven starts, the 6’7” forward has averaged 10.6 points per game on 27-of-50 shooting from the field (54%), including three makes from behind the 3-point arc. Additionally, Williams has been solid from the line, sinking 17-of-21 from the charity stripe, and steady on the boards, tallying 7.0 rebounds per game as a starter.

On the season, Williams is averaging 8.6 points and 5.8 boards per game, including a season-high 14 rebounds in the Toros’ 77-68 win over Cal State Monterey Bay last Friday.

A Work in Progress: Continuing the strong offensive effort that began 2006, CSUDH has maintained its solid production on the offensive end as it hosts Chaminade, Sonoma State and San Francisco State this week. The Toros are shooting nearly 50% from the field (47.5%), and boast six players whose percentages from the floor are at least 45%: Trevon Bryant (57%), Mario Malave (54%), Shamont Brown (54%), Durwin Williams (54%) and Mike Steed (46%).

Additionally, the Toros have narrowed the gap between CSUDH’s and their opponents shooting percentages, to the point of mirroring the figures (CSUDH - 47.5%, Opponents - 47.6%). Behind the 3-point line, however, CSUDH still is trailing its counterparts, connecting on just over a third of their attempts (35.6%) compared to a 38.9% success rate for Toro opponents.

Thank You. No, Thank You: If there’s one glaring stat in the Toros 5-4 home record compared to their 1-4 road record, it’s the different in assists and turnovers. At home, CSUDH is enjoying a +8 in that category (141 assists / 133 turnovers) while suffering a -16 differential on the road (61 assists / 77 turnovers).

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 Feb 11 as the Toros travel to CS Bakersfield.

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.