Toros Comeback Falls Short in Dropping 81-72 Decision to Cal State Bakersfield Men
February 17, 2007

Complete Box Score

Carson, CA --The Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team put up a valiant effort after intermission, but an inadvertent whistle, a turnover and a pivotal scoring drought over the final 4:17 minutes of play proved the difference as visiting and Division I-bound Cal State Bakersfield came away with a hard-fought 81-72 win on Saturday night in the Torodome. CSUDH drops to 10-13, 7-11 CCAA.

The ‘Runners, now 14-11, 13-5 CCAA, started strong to begin the game, taking a 20-9 lead with just under nine minutes elapsed in the contest, thanks in part to the Toros shooting just 30% in the early going, compared to 50% for the ‘Runners. CSUB increased its advantage to 30-15 over the next four minutes, led by Dwuan Rice’s 10 first-half points, before a 6-0 Toro run cut their deficit to 30-21.

CSUB, however, would use a 9-1 run of its own to increase its advantage to 17 at 39-22 with 3:50 left in the first half, until three-consecutive buckets by Shamont Brown (Jamaica, NY/Riverside CC) narrowed CSUB’s lead to 11, as the ‘Runners entered intermission with a 46-34 advantage.

After the break, the Toros came out inspired, cutting CSUB’s lead to 54-49 after two Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) free throws and a Jamel Ward (Los Angeles, CA/Inglewood HS) put-back at the 15:47 mark, where the score remained until CSUB’s Rick Robinson ended the run with a lay-up two minutes later.

Rivers, however, would hit a 3-pointer on the Toros’ next possession, bringing them to within four points at 56-52, the closest CSUDH had been since 12-8 in the first half.

The Toros continued to pressure the ‘Runners, cutting CSUB’s lead to 69-66 on a reverse lay-up by Jamaal Barnes (Compton, CA/Compton JC) at the 6:04 mark, before a Mike Steed (Antelope, CA/Center HS) steal and breakaway lay-up cut the lead to 71-70 two possessions later.

Down one and with the ball, the Toros’ momentum was stopped cold as CSUB was awarded the ball via possession arrow after an inadvertent whistle stopped play. After a pair of ensuing ‘Runner free throws put the lead back to three, Rice picked Rivers clean and converted on the other end to give CSUB breathing room at 75-70. The Toros missed on their next possession and Rice nailed 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the eventual 81-72 road win for the ‘Runners.

Rivers led the Toros with 14 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, and Brown chipped in 13 on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, while Trevon Bryant (Tifton, GA/Compton CC) tallied two blocks on the night to bring him to within eight of the CSUDH all-time record for blocks in a career.

CSUB’s Rice, meanwhile, scorched the Toros to the tune of 25 points, connecting for 15-of-18 from the charity stripe in the 9-point ‘Runner win, and was aided by Trent Blakley’s 14 and Carl Damus’ 12 points.

The Toros make their final road trip of the year next week, visiting 20th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino and 24th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona before concluding the regular season at home the weekend of March 2-3.