Box Score
Carson, CA -- Junior Trevon Bryant (Tifton, GA/Compton CC) established the CSUDH single-season block record at 38 with four rejections on the night, but visiting Cal State San Bernardino used a 55.3% success rate from the field to take a 76-67 win on Friday night at the Torodome, sweeping the two-game men's basketball season series.
With the loss, CSUDH's third-straight, the Toros fall to 9-15, 6-11 CCAA, while CSUSB improves to 12-11, 11-6 CCAA.
The visitors jumped on the Toros early, taking a 19-7 lead with just under eight minutes elapsed in the first 20-minute session. Despite 12 first-half points by a hot-shooting Jonathan Toliver (Inglewood, CA/Westchester HS), including two long-range 3-pointers, the Coyotes extended their lead to 24-14 on a Curtis Williams 3-pointer at 9:24, marking the first double-digit lead by CSUSB.
The Coyotes would push the margin to 12 with just over six minutes left in the first half, but a two 3-point makes and two foul shots by Toliver ignited a 13-5 Toro run to close the half, cutting the deficit to 38-34 entering intermission.
After halftime, CSUSB quickly regained its first-half momentum, bringing its lead to 46-36 with just two minutes elapsed in the second half. A tip-in by Durwin Williams (Compton, CA/Glendale JC), followed by lay-ups by both Carlos Rivers (Long Beach, CA/LA Valley College) and Nonso Nibo (Westchester, CA/St. Bernard's HS) would cut the lead to four, and an alley-oop two-handed rim-rattler by Nibo one possession later would bring the Toros to within two at 48-46, and send the Torodome into a frenzy.
The Coyotes, however, would remain unfazed, scoring seven-consecutive points to again push their lead close to double figures at 55-46. After a Bryant bucket cut the margin to seven, consecutive CSUSB treys would push the advantage to 13, giving the visitors ample breathing room.
Sophomore Mike Steed (Antelope, CA/Center HS) would ignite another 13-5 Toro run over the next five minutes, bringing CSUDH to within 68-63 with just a minute remaining in regulation. But the Coyotes would convert on 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the nine-point win.
Toliver led all Toros with 15 points, while Steed's 14, Shamont Brown's (Jamaica, NY/Riverside CC) 12 and Rivers' 11 points rounded out the double-figure scorers. Williams tallied game-high honors of 24 points for the Coyotes, while Kenneth Barnes and Geoffrey Clayton chipped in 18 and 11 points, respectively, in the win. As a team, the Toros out-rebounded the Coyotes by a 31-23 margin, but could not withstand CSUSB's hot shooting on the night.
Bryant tallied his fourth and record-setting block of the night against CSUSB's James Perkins at the 2:44 mark of the second half to vault over former Toro great Anthony Blackmon, who set his record of 37 blocks during the 1988-89 campaign.
The Toros conclude their 2005-06 regular season home schedule tomorrow night as they host UC San Diego, and honor their lone senior on the squad, Eric Montgomery. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Torodome.
