Toros Keep San Francisco State Winless in 79-62 Men’s Basketball Victory Over Gators
Steed shoots 6-for-7 en route to game-high 15 points
February 4, 2006

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA -- Sophomore Mike Steed (Antelope, CA/Center HS) enjoyed a stellar shooting night, connecting for 6-of-7 shots from the field including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point land as the Toros kept visiting San Francisco State winless in taking a 79-62 decision on Saturday night at the Torodome.

With the win, CSUDH’s fourth in five games, the Toros improve to 8-11, 5-7 CCAA, while the Gators fall to 0-18, 0-12 CCAA.

Both teams played even at the game’s outset, with the Toros taking a 9-7 lead on three Durwin Williams (Compton, CA/Glendale JC) free throws. CSUDH would increase its lead to four points at 14-10 one minute later, until a 12-5 Gator run would stake the visitors to their largest lead of the half with just 5:51 left before intermission.

After a Mario Malave (Emeryville, CA/Bakersfield College) jumper and a Williams foul shot tied the game at 22-22, SFSU’s Lawrence Metz answered with a long-range bomb, again pushing the Gator lead to three at 25-22. Malave would answer Metz’s trey with a steal and two foul shots, sending SFSU into halftime with a slim 25-24 lead.

After intermission, the Toros would increase their intensity on both ends of the court, outscoring the visitors 29-13 in under eight minutes to take a 58-38 lead, with 15 points coming via five three-pointers, two courtesy of Steed in the stretch.

A Metz 3-ball would ignite a Gator run that cut CSUDH’s lead to 53-48 with 7:46 left in regulation, but a Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) trey would bring momentum back to the Toros, pushing their lead to 19 at 73-54 on a Williams dunk.

After a three by SFSU’s Kelan Joshua cut into the Toro lead, two Rivers foul shots pushed it back up again to 18, where it remained until just seconds remained on the clock. With the game well in hand and just two ticks remaining, Rivers led a 3-on-1 fast break that resulted in a Nonso Nibo (Westchester, CA/St. Bernard's HS) two-handed alley-oop reverse slam dunk, putting an exclamation point on a decidedly active Toro second half of play. Not to be outdone, the Gators’ Julian Harmon lofted a 3/4-court prayer that was answered as the buzzer sounded, accounting for the final 79-62 score.

Rivers added 13 points while Shamont Brown’s (Jamaica, NY/Riverside CC) 12 and Williams’ 11 points rounded out the four Toro double-figure scorers.. Williams tallied game-high rebounding honors with seven boards, while the Toros were +4 in blocks and +9 in steals, accounting for a decisive 14 to zero fast break points. Joshua led SFSU with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Metz chipped in 12 in the loss.

The Toros take to the road for four-consecutive road games, battling Cal State L.A/Cal State Bakersfield next weekend, and Chico State/Cal State Stanislaus on Feb. 17-18. The Toros return to the Torodome for their final two home games on Feb. 24-25, hosting UCSD and CSUSB, respectively.