CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly
February 20, 2007

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On Tap:
The Toros (10-13, 7-11 CCAA) make their final road trip of the year this week at 16th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino and 19th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona before concluding the regular season at home the weekend of March 2-3.

Last Week’s Recap:
The Toros split a pair of close contests in their second-to-last homestand, taking a thrilling 76-74 win over Cal State L.A. on Friday night before dropping an 82-71 decision to Division I-bound Cal State Bakersfield in a game that was as close as 71-70 with 4:17 left in regulation.

In Friday’s heart-stopper, senior Gabe Bernard scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in a tightly-contested second half as the Toros survived a Cal State L.A. wide open 3-point attempt with 2.6 ticks on the clock in the 2-point win, sweeping the season series over their cross-town rivals. Carlos Rivers chipped in 15 points while Shamont Brown tallied 13 and Jamaal Barnes 10, while Brown grabbed a game-high nine boards in the win.

The next night against the ‘Runners, CSUDH was poised for an upset before a few bad breaks cost the Toros the come-from-behind win in a game that was much closer than the 11-point final score would indicate. After entering the locker room down 46-34, the Toros came out inspired after the break, cutting CSUB’s lead to 54-49 after two Rivers free throws and a Jamel Ward put-back at the 15:47 mark. The Toros continued to pressure the ‘Runners, cutting CSUB’s lead to 69-66 on a reverse lay-up by Jamaal Barnes at the 6:04 mark, before a Mike Steed 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, CSUB converted after a Toro turnover, giving them breathing room at 75-70, after which they would outscore CSUDH 6-2 in the 81-72 win.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best...:
Here’s how the Toros compare with the CCAA’s with games played through February 17:

• Blocks - Trevon Bryant (1st, 1.57 bpg), Demetrius Love (13th, 0.52 bpg), Jamaal Barnes (T19th, 0.43 bpg)
• 3-Pt. FG% - Jonathan Toliver (5th, 43.1%)
• 3-Pt. FG Made - Jonathan Toliver (7th, 2.04), Carlos Rivers (T18th, 1.39)
• FG% - Shamont Brown (9th, 53%), Mike Steed (14th, 49%)
• Steals - Mike Steed (12th, 1.44 spg)
• Rebounds - Jamaal Barnes (T13th, 5.3 rpg), Mike Steed (19th, 4.9 rpg)
• Assists - Carlos Rivers (T17th, 2.65 apg).

...And as a Team:

• Blocked Shots - 1st (3.7 bpg)
• FG% Defense - 2nd (43.3%)
• Scoring Defense - 3rd (67.4 papg)
• Rebounding Margin - 3rd (+3.1)
• Rebounding Offense - 5th (35.1 orpg)
• Turnover Margin - 5th (+0.52)
• Scoring Margin - 6th (+1.7 ppg)
• Steals - 6th (6.87 spg)
• Rebounding Defense - 6th (32.0 drpg)
• 3-Pt. FG% - 7th (36.2%)
• Scoring Offense - 8th (69.1 ppg)
• Assist/Turnover Ratio - 8th (0.84)
• FG% - 8th (45%)
• 3-Pt. FG% Defense - 8th (36.4%)
• Assists - 10th (12.39 apg)
• FT% - 11th (65.9%).

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

Eighty-sixed by the 60s:
Not surprisingly, nine of the Toros’ 13 losses have come when CSUDH has scored in the 60s or below, with its most recent under-60 point loss coming in the 70-62 defeat at he hands of then 11th-ranked Humboldt State on February 9. The Toros opened the season scoring 67 and 65 points in respective losses to then top-5 ranked University of Montevallo and Seattle Pacific, and dropped games at Sonoma State and Humboldt State after scoring 62 and 64 points to open the 2007 calendar year.

Ironically, the Toros have also won three games when scoring in the 60s, taking a 68-60 win over Chico State on December 2, a 60-51 win over UC San Diego two weeks later, and a 66-56 win at Chico State on February 2.

Good-Bye January, Hello February:
The Toros suffered through a miserable January, winning just 2 of 8 games in the month, but already have surpassed that win total after seven games in February. Last month, Sonoma State’s JT Tipton drained 8-of-15 shots from the field en route to 26 points, while Humboldt State drilled 51.9% second half shots in its comeback win as the Toros began 2007 at 0-2. After Cal State Bakersfield enjoyed a 16-point win to drop CSUDH to 0-3, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay gave CSUDH losses 4, 5 and 6 on the month.

In those six losses, however, four were by six or less points, including a 1-point loss at HSU, a 2-point loss at CSUMB and a 3-point loss at CPP.

Friday Night Nightmares:
The favorite day of the week for most people hasn’t been so kind to the Toros as CSUDH has a 2-6 record on Friday nights after last Friday’s win, with two Friday night games left in the regular season. After dropping their first five Friday night contests to begin the year, the Toros finally won on February 1, taking a 66-56 decision at Chico State. However, staying true to form, CSUDH dropped its latest Friday contest last week, falling 70-62 to Humboldt State, but survived the two-point win against the Golden Eagles last night.

Last season, CSUDH went 5-6 on Fridays, losing three of their last four Friday night games.

Rollin’ with the Rivers:
Senior point guard Carlos Rivers has come on towards the end of the regular season’s end, draining 14.3 points per contest over the last three games, good for 43.3% from the field. Additionally, the Long Beach native has drilled two 3-pointers in each of the last three contests, has connected for 11-of-12 free throws and has boasted a 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio over that same stretch as well.

For the year, Rivers is averaging 10.0 points, 2.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in 13 of the 23 games, incuding a season-high 19 points on two occasions. Additionally, Rivers leads the Toro free throw shooting regulars with his 80.4% clip.

One Step at a Time:
After draining just over 60% of their free throws over their first six games, the Toros’ hard work in practice at the charity stripe was paying huge dividends as CSUDH connected for 16-for-22 free throws in the victory over UC San Diego (12/20) and a perfect 12-for-12 at Grand Canyon (12/28) to close the calendar year, needing each and every one of those points in the 70-69 overtime win.

In CSUDH’s 10 contests that followed, however, the Toros regressed to their early season form, hitting just 62% (116-for-187) in dropping seven of those 10 games. Nevertheless, the Toros regained a bit of their shooting form over their last five games, sinking 73.5% of their shots (61-of-83) to bring CSUDH’s free throw percentage up to 65.9% on the year, compared to 74.6% for Toro opponents.

Above Average:
After posting a 7-7 record at home last season, the Toros have defended their home court 56% of the time thus far, winning six of 11 games, with two home games left in the regular season. In Carson’s friendly confines, the Toros are averaging 72.3 points versus 68.9 for their opponents, while scoring just 66.3 points on the road compared to 66 points for their opponents on their home floor.

An even more startling set of numbers can been seen at the free throw line where CSUDH has gone to the line 219 times (146 made) in the Torodome, reaching the charity stripe just 190 times (121 made) on the road in one more game played than at home. Conversely, opponents have gone to the free throw line 221 times in Carson and 215 times on their home court, draining 78.2% of their throws in the Torodome (173 makes) and 72% away (154 makes).

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 entering the season, senior Trevon Bryant has collected 36 blocks on the year, bringing him to within eight of the record. After playing limited minutes in four games from December 28 through January 12 due to injury, Bryant regrouped with three blocks in the win at Cal State L.A., the fourth game in which he’s had 3 blocks in a single contest, a season-high 4 blocks in the heart-breaker at Cal State Monterey Bay on January 26, and has 16 blocks in his last seven games. To set the record, Bryant will need to average two blocks over his final four regular season games.

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.

Coaches on Point:
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 one 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.

Just how accurate have the coaches predictions actually been, you ask? With four games left in the regular season, the Lumberjacks sit at the top of the conference, and are followed by the Coyotes, the Broncos, the ‘Runners, and the Seawolves rounding out the top 5.