CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly
February 27, 2007

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On Tap:
The Toros conclude their regular season at home this week hosting San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay. Before the Otters contest, CSUDH will honor its five seniors -- Gabe Bernard, Shamont Brown, Trevon Bryant, Murphy Cooper and Carlos Rivers -- in a pre-game ceremony.

Last Week’s Recap:
The Toros lost a pair of tough games at nationally-ranked Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona last weekend, dropping a 70-69 heartbreaker in overtime to the Broncos after falling 84-75 one night earlier against the ‘Yotes.

On Saturday, the Toros saw their early 12-point lead over CPP fall by the wayside as Bronco Dion Cook dropped 39 points on CSUDH, including 31 in the second half. Mike Steed tallied a team-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, but his driving layup in traffic wouldn’t fall as time expired in overtime, giving CPP the thriller. Shamont Brown chipped in 12 points and 8 boards, while Gabe Bernard contributed 10 in the loss.

One night earlier, the host Coyotes outscored the Toros 16-8 over the final 2:44 in regulation in taking the 9-point win. Carlos Rivers had a game-high 24 points, making 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Brown tallied 19 points and a game-high nine boards while Jonathan Toliver chipped in with 12 points and five assists. Ironically, the Toros shot 59.6% from the field - their highest percentage all year - as well as 50% from 3-point land and 80% from the foul stripe, but couldn’t complete the comeback as CSUDH took 19 less shots than CSUSB.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best...:
Here’s how the Toros compare with the CCAA’s with games played through February 24:

• Blocks - Trevon Bryant (1st, 1.68 bpg), Demetrius Love (14th, 0.57 bpg)
• FG% - Shamont Brown (5th, 54%), Mike Steed (13th, 50%)
• 3-Pt. FG% - Jonathan Toliver (6th, 41.3%)
• 3-Pt. FG Made - Jonathan Toliver (7th, 2.00), Carlos Rivers (T16th, 1.44)
• Rebounds - Shamont Brown (T10th, 5.5 rpg), Jamaal Barnes (18th, 5.0 rpg), Mike Steed (19th, 4.9 rpg)
• Steals - Mike Steed (12th, 1.45 spg)
• Assists - Carlos Rivers (T14th, 2.68 apg), Jonathan Toliver (19th, 2.60 apg).

...And as a Team:

• Blocked Shots - 1st (3.72 bpg)
• FG% Defense - 1st (43.5%)
• Rebounding Margin - 3rd (+2.8)
• Scoring Defense - 5th (68.2 papg)
• Rebounding Offense - 6th (34.8 orpg)
• Turnover Margin - 6th (-0.08)
• Scoring Margin - 6th (+1.2 ppg)
• Steals - 6th (6.96 spg)
• Rebounding Defense - 6th (32.0 drpg)
• 3-Pt. FG% - 6th (36.6%)
• Assist/Turnover Ratio - 8th (0.84)
• FG% - 8th (45.9%)
• Scoring Offense - 9th (69.4 ppg)
• 3-Pt. FG% Defense - 10th (37.4%);
• Assists - 10th (12.72 apg); FT% - 11th (66.2%).

The Bryant Watch - 2 for the All-Time Record:
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 42 blocks on the year, bringing him to within two 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 15 blocks in his last six games.

To set the record, Bryant will need to average just one block over his final two our regular season games.

Friday Night Nightmares:
The favorite day of the week for most people hasn’t been so kind to the Toros as CSUDH has a 2-7 record on Friday nights after last Friday’s loss, with one Friday night game 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 three weeks ago in a 70-62 loss to Humboldt State, but survived the two-point win against the Golden Eagles on February 16. Then, last Friday, CSUDH again fell to the Friday jinx at Cal State San Bernardino, falling to the Coyotes, 84-75.

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

Eighty-sixed by the 60s:
Not surprisingly, 10 of the Toros’ 15 losses have come when CSUDH has scored in the 60s or below, with its most recent 60s-and-under point loss coming in the 70-69 defeat at 19th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona in an overtime heart-breaker last Saturday. 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.

High Turnover:
The Toros have played seven games against ranked opponents this season, and have gone 0-7 despite losing two games by 3 points, and one by just 1 point. Shamont Brown (pictured) has enjoyed the most success amongst the Toros, connecting for 57.6% from the field, while pulling down 6.0 boards and averaging 11.7 points per contest. Jonathan Toliver also has fared well, connecting for 41.3% from behind the arc for an 11.6 ppg average, while dishing 22 assists compared to just 10 turnovers in the seven games, by far the best ratio on the squad.

Not surprisingly, the Toros have been out-played by the ranked teams in most statistical categories, with the most telling discrepancy occurring in the assist-to-turnover category. In dropping seven games, CSUDH has committed 21 more turnovers than assists, while its opponents have tallied 30 more assists than turnovers.

High Turnover Against the CCAA’s Best:
Against the top 6 teams in the CCAA, the Toros haven’t done much better this year either in posting a 1-11 record against the likes of Humboldt State, CS San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona, CS Bakersfield, Sonoma State and CS Stanislaus, with the only win coming in a 79-57 drub

Against those schools, turnovers have also plagued the Toros as CSUDH has 38 more turnovers than they have assists, compared to a +11 assists for their opponents. In fact, while coach Powell’s team boasts a higher field goal percentage and has made 18 more baskets (317-299), the Toros have allowed 27 more 3-pointers made and 66 more free throws made in the 12 games. Jonathan Toliver (pictured) has been a bright spot in that stretch, averaging 10.3 points, and a +11 in the assist-to-turnover category. Additionally, “Skip” has drained 28-of-65 trey attempts, good for a 43.1% success rate from the arc.

bing of defending CCAA Champion Sonoma State on February 10.

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 seven games, sinking 72.6% of their shots (85-of-117) to bring CSUDH’s free throw percentage up to 66.2% 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 67.1 points on the road compared to 67.6 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 219 times (146 made) on the road in three more games played than at home. Conversely, opponents have gone to the free throw line 221 times in Carson and 254 times on their home court, draining 78.2% of their throws in the Torodome (173 makes) and 72% away (183 makes).

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 two 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.

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