CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly
November 27, 2006

This Release in PDF

Welcome to the 2006-07 home openers! The Toros kick off their season home-opener this weekend as they welcome CCAA opponents Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State on Friday and Saturday. Tip off for both contests is scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Torodome.

Last Weekend’s Recap: The Toros suffered losses to national top-5 teams at the Seattle Pacific-hosted Las Vegas Thanksgiving Classic last weekend, falling to No. 2 University of Montevallo on Friday, 70-67, and then to No. 5 SPU, 84-65, the following afternoon.

Against UM on Friday, sophomore Jonathan Toliver scored 12 points to pace a trio of Toros in double-figure scoring, but CSUDH's attempted comeback from a 19-point first half deficit fell just short as the upset bid fell literally by the wayside after Jamaal Barnes’ half-court heave as time expired went halfway in the hoop ... and then out. Carlos Rivers and Shamont Brown each tallied 11 points, while Barnes grabbed 8 boards in the near-upset special.

The next day against 4th-ranked SPU, however, the Toros were shellacked by a hot-shooting Falcon squad as the hosts connected for a sizzling 62.7% from the field and 56.5% from 3-point land in the Toros’ 84-65 loss. After CSUDH kept the game close over the first five minutes, SPU outscored the Toros 26-7 over the next 10 minutes to seize control of the game. CSUDH would narrow the margin to 39-31 entering the half, but SPU would shoot 70.8% in the second half to run away with the win. Barnes led the Toros with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while Toliver and Rivers accounted for 11 points apiece in the loss.

Around the CCAA Conference: Here’s a look at the rest of the conference schedule for this week: Monday - Cal State San Bernardino @ Cal Poly Pomona; Friday - Sonoma State @ Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Bakersfield @ San Francisco State, Cal State L.A. @ Cal State Monterey Bay, Humboldt State @ Cal State San Bernardino, Chico State @ UC San Diego; Saturday - Cal State Stanislaus @ UC San Diego, Sonoma State @ Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State L.A. @ San Francisco State, Cal State Bakersfield @ Cal State Monterey Bay, Humboldt State @ Cal Poly Pomona.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best...: Here’s how the Toros compare with the CCAA in the early going: 3-Pt. FG Made - Jonathan Toliver (T2nd, 6), Carlos Rivers (T2nd, 6); Assist/Turnover Ratio - Jonathan Toliver (6th, 4.50); 3-Pt. FG% - Carlos Rivers (7th, 60%), Jonathan Toliver (11th, 43%); Assists - Jonathan Toliver (T7th, 4.5 apg); FT% - Jamaal Barnes (3rd, 89%); Steals - Gabe Bernard (T9th, 2.0 spg), Nonso Nibo (T9th, 2.0 spg); Rebounds - Jamaal Barnes (T10th, 6.5 rpg), Gabe Bernard (T19th, 5.5 rpg); FG% - Shamont Brown (15th, 53%), Jonathan Toliver (T19th, 50%); Blocks - Trevon Bryant (T6th, 1.0 bpg), Jonathan Toliver (T6th, 1.0 bpg), Demetrius Love (T6th, 1.0 bpg); Shamont Brown (T6th, 1.0 bpg); Scoring - Jonathan Toliver (18th, 11.5 ppg), Jamaal Barnes (T20th, 11.0 ppg, Carlos Rivers (T20th, 11.0 ppg).

...And as a Team: Blocked Shots - 1st (5.50 bpg); Turnover Margin - T3rd (+3.00); Assist/Turnover Ratio - 4th (1.07); Rebounding Offense - 4th (39.0 orpg); Assists - T6th (15.0 apg); FT% - 7th (58%); Steals - T7th (8.5 spg); Rebounding Defense - 8th (37.5 drpg); Scoring Offense - 8th (66.0 ppg); Scoring Defense - T8th (77.0 papg); FG% Defense - 9th (49%); 3-Pt. FG% - 9th, (32%); Scoring Margin - 10th, (-11 ppg); FG% - 10th (38%); 3-Pt. FG% Defense - 11th (49%); Rebounding Margin - T5th (+1.5).

Hard to Guard, Part II: Carlos Rivers has continued 2006-07 where he left off last season, scoring double-digits in both games thus far. Last season, in his first in Cardinal & Gold, Rivers emerged as one of the “go-to” players for the Toros last season. After scoring a total of 15 points in his first two contests in Cardinal & Gold, Rivers etched double-figure scoring in 16 of his last 24 games, including seven 20+ point performances and a career-best 31-point outburst against UC San Diego on February 25.

Rivers also provided solid work at the charity stripe as he connected for 86% of his free throws on the season, a mark that would have topped the CCAA’s best effort of 83% had Rivers met the minimum standard of 3.0 free throws made per game.

Toliver the Terrific: Sophomore guard Jonathan Toliver has been terrific in the season-opening losses to two top-ranked teams. In the three-point loss to Montevallo, Toliver connected for 4-of-9 shots from the field, including three 3s, to lead all Toro scorers.

The next day against Seattle Pacific, Toliver made 4-of-7 shots from the field, adding 3 more treys, to give him 11 points in the contest. These two games gives the Inglewood native an average of 11.5 points per game scored, the highest point total on the Toros in the early going.

The “Barnes” Burner: Junior Jamaal Barnes is quickly making his presence felt on the stacked Toro squad. All the transfer has done thus far in the two games thus far is lead the Toros in both rebounds and free throw percentage, proving solid play on both ends of the floor.

The Compton native also led the Toros in scoring against Seattle Pacific, connecting on 5-of-7 shots from the field. In fact, Barnes has drained 8-of-9 free throws on the young season, with his only miss occurring in the SPU contest.

Trey Magnifique: Senior Carlos Rivers and Jonathan Toliver have been lighting it up from behind the arc, combining for all 12 of CSUDH’s 3-point makes. Both players drained three 3-pointers apiece against the University of Montevallo and Seattle Pacific.

The Bryant Watch: After destroying the CSUDH single-single mark with 52 blocked shots last season and needing just 44 to establish himself as the Toros’ all-time career blocked shot leader, senior Trevon Bryant collected two blocks in limited minutes over the weekend, bringing him to within 42 for the record. The 6’9” “Last Line” played 18 minutes against UM and just 7 against SPU, collecting 8 boards, 3 points, 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Last season, Bryant tallied his 38th block on February 24, against Cal State San Bernardino, surpassing the previous mark of 37 blocks set by former Toro great Anthony Blackman during the 1988-99 campaign.

What the Coaches Say: In a preseason poll conducted by the CCAA coaches, Cal State Dominguez Hills was predicted to finish 7th in the highly-competitive conference. CCAA-newcomer Humboldt State, which was tabbed by Street & Smith as No. 6 in its preseason poll, was given 9 first-place votes to top the conference list, and was followed by Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Bakersfield and Sonoma State, which received 1 first-place nod apiece.

Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego preceded the Toros in 5th and 6th, respectively, while Cal State Stanislaus, Chico State, Cal State L.A., San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay rounded out the 12 CCAA schools.

Craig on the Mic: The voice of the Toros online, veteran broadcaster Craig Dunkin will web cast two games to begin 2007 in the January 19 game against Cal Poly Pomona, and the February 9 contest against Humboldt State. Tune in at www.toroslive.com for all the play-by-play action.

The Time is Now: The 2006-07 Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team is ready. Ready with eight returning players on a team that improved by two wins in conference and four overall after welcoming 10 newcomers and a coach in just his second year with last season’s squad. Ready after winning its last two regular season games of the year. And ready after five of its losses on the year were by three points or less.

In 2005-06, juniors Carlos Rivers and Shamont Brown, who was named to the 2nd-team All-CCAA, led the Toro offense, averaging 13.4 and 12.0 points per game, respectively, while fellow junior transfer Trevon Bryant anchored a revamped defense that saw him establish the CSUDH record for blocks in a single-season with 52, with his 2.36 blocks per game average placing him 15th in the NCAA, giving head coach Damaine Powell (right) ample reason to smile as the season kicks off this week at the SPU Thanksgiving Classic.

“For the first time since I’ve been here, I know my personnel,” says Powell confidently. “We kind of got on a roll toward the end but by that time, the season was over. But we felt good about ourselves. Now, we’ve got some talent and experience, and we’re playing to that. We have the potential to have a breakthrough year.”