Toro Men’s Basketball Falls 83-78 to CCAA-Leading Sonoma State in Tale of Two Halves
Rivers, Williams tally 20 points each as CSUDH’s three-game win streak ends
February 3, 2006

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Juniors Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) and Durwin Williams (Compton, CA/Glendale JC) shared game-high honors with 20 points apiece and Cal State Dominguez Hills outscored visiting Sonoma State by 18 in the second half on 69.2% shooting. But the comeback wasn’t enough to overturn the Seawolves’ 23-point first half advantage, and the visitors held on for a thrilling 83-78 win.

With the loss, the Toros first in four games, CSUDH falls to 7-11, 4-7 CCAA, while SSU improves to 12-5, 10-1 CCAA.

Shamont Brown (Jamaica, NY/Riverside CC) got the Toros off on the right foot, scoring the game’s first four points on consecutive buckets. The Seawolves, however, would outscore CSUDH 30-11 over the next 10 minutes to take a 30-15 lead behind Vince Inglima’s seven points and four points and four assists from Kevin Christiansen.

The Toros would delay SSU’s momentum on a Jonathan Toliver (Inglewood, CA/Westchester HS) trey, but the Seawolves would continue firing on all cylinders, stretching their lead to 45-24 with just under three minutes left in the first half. After trading buckets, SSU’s J.T. Lipton would connect on a layup to close the frame as SSU would shoot 78% from the floor in taking a 49-26 lead.

The Toros would increase their defensive intensity after the break, finding their offensive rhythm in the process. A Rivers 3-pointer brought the lead to under 20 at 58-39 with 17:35 remaining in the half, and another bomb, this time by Williams, cut the margin to 58-44 just three minutes later.

SSU’s Andrew Kochevar would answer with a three of his own, but CSUDH would continue to press the Seawolves, chipping its deficit to nine on two Rivers foul shots at the 8:22 mark. A Williams jumper and two Brown free throws brought the Toros to within five at 68-63, but an Inglima lay-up put a temporary break on the Toro comeback, pushing SSU’s lead back up to seven.

CSUDH would not relent, using a Mario Malave (Emeryville, CA/Bakersfield College) 3-pointer at 4:07 to bring the Toros to 72-68, sending the Torodome crowd into a frenzy.

SSU’s Inglima, however, would not let the Seawolves succumb to the Toro charge, nailing a three to give the visitors breathing room. After the Toros cut the lead to five on another Malave bucket, SSU would sink seven-consecutive free throws down the stretch to increase its lead to eight with just 10 seconds left, the final five courtesy of Chris Getty.

A Mike Steed (Antelope, CA/Center HS) lay-up six ticks later gave the Toros hope, but the visitors remained solid at the line, propelling the Seawolves to the 83-78 win.

Brown and Malave each chipped in 12 points for the Toros to round out CSUDH’s four double-figure scorers, which, as a team, ended up shooting 52.8% for the game and 56.3% from beyond the arc.

Inglima shared game-high honors with 20 points and was bolstered by Paige Dumont’s 15 points and nine each by Christensen and Donald Deshotels.

The visitors converted 14-of-17 free throws after intermission and 18-of-22 for the game, compared to the Toros 13-of-17 total for the contest.

CSUDH continues CCAA conference play tomorrow night as they face San Francisco State, with tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Torodome.