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Cold Second-Half Shooting Dooms Toros in 65-56 Loss to Sonoma State

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Carson, CA --  Cal State Dominguez Hills shot just 25% after the break as a three-point halftime lead quickly turned into a nine-point loss in visiting Sonoma State's 65-56 victory Friday night in the Torodome, bringing the Seawolves to 3-0, 1-0 CCAA, and dropping the Toros to 2-1, 0-1 CCAA in both teams' conference opener.
   
Guard Ryan Walton got the Toros started early with a follow-up dunk just seconds into the contest, and an ensuing steal and lay-up gave CSUDH a quick 4-0 lead.  Walton fed the post for another bucket after an SSU miss, and Jonathan Toliver followed with a long trey to give CSUDH a 9-0 lead.
    
Seawolf Andrew Kochevar hit two 3-pointers to give SSU its first points of the contest, but a Rodney Yearby bucket stopped the visitors' momentum and gave CSUDH a 15-8 lead with just over five minutes elapsed in the first half.
    
Kochevar, however, was just getting started, hitting his next three shots to tie the contest at 18-18 at the 9:25 mark, until two Toliver foul shots regained the lead for the Toros.  Jamaal Barnes gave CSUDH a 5-point lead with a long 3-pointer, but the Seawolves again answered to take their first lead of the contest at 26-25, the last two points coming on a pair of Blake Saunders foul shots. In the back-and-forth game this was in the first 20 minutes, however, CSUDH replied with an 8-6 run over the half's final minutes to enter the locker room up 34-31.
    
Both teams started cold to begin the second half, with the Toros staying up three through the first two minutes and 10 seconds of play, until Toliver backed down the smaller Kochevar and layed the ball in for a 5-point lead. 
    
The Toros then grew cold, allowing the Seawolves to mount a charge and take the lead at 39-36 on lay-ups by Blake Saunders and Ben Washington, increasing the lead by three on a trey by Gerred Link at the 14:26 mark, and to eight on another Kochevar bucket.
   
CSUDH cut the lead to six on a Barnes lay-up, but the Seawolves continued to accelerate their offense via two 3-pointers and a put-back, the last coming from Link at 10:05 to bring SSU's lead to 52-39.
    
Kochevar, who notched a game-high 24 points, continued his assault with a bucket just inside the arc for a 54-39 lead, until a Toliver trey at 7:22 stopped the bleeding and gave the Toros their first bucket since the 13:12 mark.
    
SSU kept its lead at double figures until two missed one-and-one opportunities allowed CSUDH's Jamel Ward to score a pair of quick buckets, bringing CSUDH to within 62-53 with 2:05 left in regulation after employing a full court press.
    
Ward cut CSUDH's deficit to 62-58 with three-consecutive free throws, but a one-and-one conversion by SSU's Ben Washington after a Toro foul gave the Seawolves breathing room at 64-56 with 69 ticks remaining, and a final Washington foul shot accounted for the game's final tally in the Sonoma State 65-56 victory.
    
Toliver led the Toros with 14 points, while Ward chipped in 12.  Link bolstered Kochevar's output with 14 of his own for SSU, while helping the Seawolves drain 46.4% of their second half shots in the come-from-behind win.
   
The Toros continue their opening homestand against the defending CCAA Champion and preseason 4th-ranked Humboldt State Lumberjacks tomorrow night, with first tip scheduled for 7:30 pm.
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