Box score

Seaside, CA -- Toro sharpshooter Jonathan Toliver connected for five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 16 points as CSUDH held off a game Otter squad in taking a 76-72 win over host Cal State Monterey Bay.  With the win, the Toros have won two in a row, and improved to 8-6, 3-5 CCAA.

Augie Johnston kept CSUMB  in the game with 21 points, hitting six of nine from the three-point line.  Joe Mitchell also came up big with 19 points on seven of 10 shooting. But the Otters would be outrebounded 38-26. Mitchell and DShon Cannon led CSUMB on the boards with six each. Cannon scored nine points, less than half his average after playing 53 minutes Friday night and scoring 35.

Toliver, Rodney Yearby (15) and Jerrell Smith (12) all scored in double figures for the Toros.

The Otters led briefly in the second half when Cannon scored on a fast break layup, was fouled and converted the three-point opportunity to make the score 51-50 with 11:11 left in the game. The Otters would build that lead to 54-50 before the Toros took over. But CSUDH never led by more than nine.

With 32 seconds left and the Otters trailing 73-69 they were forced to foul the Toros' Michael Hernandez and put him on the line. Hernandez made both to put his team up six. The Otters' Jose Sanchez then hit a trey with 11 seconds left to get the Otters within three and they fouled again. This time Jonathan Toliver missed both shots, giving the Otters a chance. CSUMB went swiftly down the court but Stephen Becker, who had minutes earlier nailed a crucial three, mishandled his dribble and Yearby grabbed the loose ball. Becker immediately fouled and Yearby made one of his free throws with one second on the clock to make the final score 76-72.

Becker's bad bounce was not the only miscue the Otters made late in the game. Cannon uncharacteristically made a turnover in the final minute and also missed a layup. Their legs may have been tired. The Otters have been playing with an eight-man roster and Friday night's triple-overtime loss was no different. In addition to Cannon's marathon 53-minute effort, Mitchell played 51. Juston Willis played 46 minutes off the bench and Becker, also a sub, had 39. However, Saturday saw the addition of Ron Houston to the playing roster. Houston came into the game with 11 minutes to go in the first half and he picked up a foul within 30 seconds to be officially noted in the statistics. He finished the night with five minutes of playing time, one foul and one important defensive rebound late in the game.

CSUDH returns home for CCAA action next weekend, as Chico State visits Carson on Friday, January 25, with first tip scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Torodome.

(Courtesy Cal State Monterey Bay)