Streaking Toros Win Fourth-Straight in 71-62 Win Over Cal State Stanislaus

Box Score

Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills junior Rodney Yearby scored 19 points to lead the Toros for the second-consecutive night as CSUDH, now 10-6, 5-5 CCAA, held off a pesky Cal State Stanislaus squad by a 71-62 count, giving the Cardinal and Gold its fourth-consecutive conference win of the season, the first time since 2001-02 the Toros have enjoyed such a stretch in CCAA Conference games.

The two teams played tight to begin the contest, exchanging the lead nine times and tying six. Jonathan Toliver enjoyed the hot hand in the early going, notching 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting all from beyond the arc, including a rare 4-point play with 2:13 remaining in the half that gave the Toros a 33-32 lead after the triple, and a 34-32 edge after the ensuing foul shot, eventually settling for a 38-32 advantage entering the break.

The Toros continued to pressure the visitors out of the locker room, scoring a Yearby trey and dunk to bring CSUDH's lead to 43-34 with 1:47 elapsed in the second period. A Rick Cardoso tip-in and Heath Colvin foul shot cut into the deficit, but a Danny Tavares jumper and Jerrell Smith bucket brought the hosts' lead to double figures for the first time at 47-37.

Cal State Stanislaus, which fell to 3-14, 2-8 CCAA, rallied behind Duane Jones, who connected for a three and two foul shots to make it a 49-44 game with 14:41 left in regulation, and whittled the lead to just two after a Colvin jumper brought CSUS to within 56-54.

Yearby, however, continued his solid effort by draining a trey, and a Smith flush and another Yearby bucket gave the Toros breathing room at 63-54 with just under four minutes left. The visitors, on the other hand, went cold over that stretch with just eight points as clutch foul shooting by the Toros sealed the eventual 71-62 win.

Yearby added nine boards while Smith contributed 16 points and five rebounds in the win as CSUDH took a 36-to-32 rebounding edge, which resulted in a 36-to-24 points in the paint advantage. Toliver added 14 points as the Toros survived despite shooting just 68.4% from the foul line, an effort offset by the Warriors' woeful 56.3% effort.

Colvin paced the visitors with 19 points while Jones added 17 and J.R. Cassita 12 in the loss.

CSUDH takes to Humboldt State and Sonoma State for its toughest trip next weekend before hosting nationally-ranked Cal State San Bernardino and perennial power Cal Poly Pomona.

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