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Men's Basketball

Toros Run Streak to Five in 70-56 Win at Grand Canyon

Michael Hernandez dished 5 dimes with zero turnovers as CSUDH improved to 5-0 to start the year
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Phoenix, AZ - Hot shooting told the tale for the Toros in tonight's 70-56 win at Grand Canyon as CSUDH sank more than half its shots in the 14-point win to give them five-consecutive victories to start the year, accumulating the most wins to start a season since 1980-81, when CSUDH began 4-0.  Senior guard Michael Hernandez was one of the leaders with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting, adding 4 boards, 5 assists and zero turnovers.

After both teams went scoreless over the game's first four minutes, a Jerrell Smith jumper finally broke the drought in the desert, giving CSUDH a 2-0 lead at exactly the 16:00 mark.  The Toros pushed their lead to 12-6 on a Rodney Yearby jumper, before consecutive GCU treys tied the game at 12-12.  CSUDH inched out again at 19-14 on a Robert Willhite layup, only to see the host 'Lopes outscore the Toros 8-3 to see the two teams deadlocked at 22-22 entering the half.

That's as close as the Antelopes would get as the Toros ran off seven-straight points to begin the second frame, extending it to 12 on a Hernandez free throw at 14:38, and to 44-24 on a Smith foul shot two minutes later.

An emphatic Smith rim-rattler gave the Toros their largest lead of the night thus far at 50-27 with just under 12 minutes to play, before the 'Lopes whittled away at the their deficit over the next five minutes, trimming the edge to 56-42.

That run seemed to energize the Toros as they outscored the hosts 12-2 over the next four minutes to put the game away, eventually settling for the 14-point win.

Smith led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Yearby and Willhite each chipped in with 8 points in the win.  Offensive efficiency played a key role in the victory as CSUDH racked up 23 assists to just 13 turnovers, compared to 14 assists and 11 turnovers for GCU, while CSUDH's defense locked down the 'Lopes in the second half, limiting them to just 26.9% shooting from the field after the break.

The Toros, now 5-0, return home next week to begin CCAA Conference play the weekend of December 5-6, hosting Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday in an early season showdown of the conference's top two preseason teams.
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