Los Angeles, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills whittled a 14-point second half deficit to just 4 points with 34 ticks left on the clock, but free clutch free throw shooting down the stretch and an overall field goal percentage of 45.5% lifted host Cal State L.A. to an 89-80 win over the Toros, handing the Cardinal and Gold its first conference loss of the season. Jonathan Toliver led all CSUDH players with 18 points.
Chris Fields had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Dwayne Jones also had a season-high 25 points to go along with five rebounds. Artis Gant had 13 points and seven rebounds and Chris Mark had 11 points and six rebounds.
The Golden Eagles shot 45.5 percent for the game, including 55.6 percent in the second half, when they outscored Cal State Dominguez Hills, 52-42. The Golden Eagles also hit 31 of their 40 free-throw attempts and held a 38-36 rebounding edge. Cal State Dominguez Hills made 41.8 percent of its shots and was 30-of-44 from the free-throw line.
The game was a spirited one and both teams played with high intensity. The Golden Eagles took a quick 10-4 lead, but the Toros went on a 12-2 run to grab a 16-12 lead after a pair of free throws by Yearby. The Toros went on to take their biggest lead of the game, 29-23, with four minutes left in the first half after a three-point play by
Ryan Walton.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jones staked the Golden Eagles to a 35-33 lead, but a 3-pointer by Toliver put the Toros back ahead and Cal State Dominguez Hills went on to take a 38-37 lead at halftime.
Cal State L.A. started quickly in the second half and got a layup by Mark and a 3-pointer by Fields to take a 42-38 lead. The game was eventually tied for the 10th and final time at 48-48 after a pair of free throws by Smith with 16:08 to go.
Cal State L.A. then went on an 8-0 run that included a go-ahead jumper by Polo and two 3-pointers by Gant to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good. A 3-pointer by Fields gave the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead at 61-51 with 11:17 remaining.
A layup by Mark after a nice pass from Donte Bell gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead of the game, 73-58, with 5:35 to go. A pair of free throws by Bell gave the Golden Eagles a 75-61 lead with 4:52 left and Cal State L.A. still held an 11-point lead at 79-68 with 2:30 to go.
The Toros, though, forced three straight turnovers to help fuel a 7-0 run that made it 79-75 after a layup by Toliver following a steal by
Gino Riney with 1:54 remaining. Fields hit two free throws to extend the lead to 81-75 with 1:51 to go and Mark hit a free throw to make it 82-75 with 50 seconds remaining.
A 3-pointer by Riney with 34 seconds left pulled the Toros to within four points, 82-78, but Fields was fouled and hit two more free throws to make it 84-78. Toliver made two free throws for the Toros with 23 seconds to go, but Jones was fouled intentionally and made a free throw to make it 85-80. Cal State L.A. kept possession of the ball and got two more free throws from Jones to put the game out of reach.
CSUDH, now 8-2, 2-1 CCAA, will return to action on Saturday with a CCAA game at UC San Diego.
(Courtesy CSULA)
