January 13, 2006

Carson, CA -- Junior Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) tied for game-high honors with 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting while fellow junior Mario Malave (Emeryville, CA/Bakersfield College) added 25 points on 10-of-17 from the floor as the Toros withstood a last second Cal State Stanislaus 3-point attempt and held off a game Warrior squad, 92-89, Friday night in the Torodome. Snapping a two-game skid, the Toros improve to 4-7, 2-3 CCAA, while CSUS falls to 4-8, 1-4 CCAA.

Malave and CSUS' Marcus Martinez played a game of give-and-take with six points apiece early as the visitors took a a 19-16 lead with 12:45 left in the first half. The Toros finally would knot the game at 21-21 on a Durwin Williams (Compton, CA/Glendale JC) foul shot just three minutes later, and eventually take their first lead of the ballgame on a Jonathan Toliver (Inglewood, CA/Westchester HS) 3-ball which followed a Warrior turnover.

Toliver would continue his hot shooting in the first half, connecting on another long-range bomb at the 4:12 mark to give CSUDH its biggest lead at 40-31, and bolstered by Malave's 14 points and 12 points apiece by Toliver and Rivers, the Toros would withstand 17 first-half points by CSUS' Martinez and take a slim 48-47 entering the half.

Cal State Stanislaus regained the lead at 57-55 just four minutes into the second half of this see-saw battle, giving the Torodome crowd a preview of what was to come down the stretch. After a pair of Martinez foul shots gave CSUS a 6-point cushion, the Toros' Rivers would exploit the porous defense, driving for lay-up after lay-up as CSUDH seized the lead at 77-70 with 6:11 left in regulation.

After a Williams foul shot and two free throws by Nonso Nibo (Westchester, CA/St. Bernard's HS) one minute later would give the Toros their biggest lead of the game at 82-72, the Warriors used a 3-pointer by Kavin Young and two of Martinez's 25 points to cut the lead to five, setting the stage for the final furious minutes.

With time winding down and the Toros holding a tenuous 89-86 advantage, a Jesse Satterfield jumper would bring the Warriors to within 89-88 with 1:57 remaining. A CSUS foul, however, would give momentum back to the Toros, and after Malave drained one of two foul shots to give CSUDH a 90-88 advantage, Young returned the favor by sinking just one of two free throws with :06 left, again bringing the Toro lead to one. Trying to deny Rivers the ensuing in-bounds pass, the Long Beach native used his quickness to get free, eventually sinking two free throws after he was fouled to give CSUDH a 92-89 lead.

The Warriors' Martinez would have one final chance to send the game into overtime, but his look from beyond the 3-point line went for naught as the Toros earned the three-point win.

The Toros shot a sizzling 60.7% from the field, while holding the Warriors to a subpar 36.4% shooting percentage in the win.

Toliver finished with 12 points while Williams chipped in 11 to give the Toros four double-figure scorers in the victory. Despite the Toros' 66.7% performance from the foul line, Malave and Rivers combined for 12-of-13, negating the 3-point happy shooting of the Warriors, who managed to sink just 13 of their 41 attempts from beyond the arc.

Young led the Warriors with his 29 points, including a solid 11-of-12 performance from the foul line, while Dominique Pennix contributed 11 in the loss.