Los Angeles, CA -- Host Cal State L.A. capitalized on a perfect 13-for-13 night from the charity stripe, including 8-for-8 in the second half, compared to the Toros' 16-of-22 from the line, including just 10-of-14 after the break, to take a hard-fought 64-60 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills in a key CCAA Conference match-up in the Eagles Nest. Senior Nonso Nibo paced the Toros with 12 points, including 3-of-6 from long range, in the loss as CSUDH fell to 13-8, 8-7 CCAA.
In an inspired performance to complete a season sweep of Cal State Dominguez Hills, Vincent Camper led the Golden Eagles with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Christopher Mark had 10 points and nine rebounds.
In addition to Nibo's 12 points and four rebounds,
Jerrell Smith had 10 points and six rebounds and
Danny Tavares had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Cal State L.A. shot 48 percent in the first half while racing to a 35-26 lead and finished th game at 39.6 percent. Cal State Dominguez Hills made 30.8 percent of its shots. The Golden Eagles knocked down nine of their 24 attempts from behind the 3-point arc, while the Toros were only 4-of-17 from behind the arc.
Cal State Dominguez Hills had a 43-38 rebounding edge. It was a well-played game and neither team committed many turnovers. The Toros lost the ball six times, while the Golden Eagles had eight miscues.
The Golden Eagles trailed only twice, at 2-0 and 4-3. Cal State L.A.'s first five baskets came on 3-pointers as Tyler Polo, Eric Flournoy, Demetrius Hazel, Polo again and Hazel again helped the Golden Eagles take a 15-8 edge. The lead grew to 13 points at 25-12 after another 3-pointer, this one by Camper.
The Toros got a late layup by Tavares just before the buzzer to make it 35-26 at halftime.
Cal State L.A. never trailed in the second half, but the Toros came close several times. A 3-pointer by Nibo cut the deficit to 46-41 with 12:41 to go, but a 3-pointer by Christofer Hart pushed the lead back to eight, 49-41. After the Toros countered with a basket by
Jamaal Barnes, Hart hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to nine points, 52-43, with 10:55 to go.
The Golden Eagles took their biggest lead of the second half, 56-45, after a jumper by Junior Rodriguez with 9:16 to go, but Cal State Dominguez Hills began steadily chipping away at the lead. The Toros sliced it to six before a pair of free throws by Mark made it 62-54 with 2:43 remaining. A 3-point play by Smith brought the Toros to within five, 62-57, with 1:26 to go and a pair of free throws by
Mike Steed made it 62-59 with 1:26 to go.
Barnes hit one free throw to make it 62-60 with 19 seconds left, but Camper knocked down two free throws with 17 seconds to go to make it 64-60 and end the threat.
The Toros look to get back on the winning track on Saturday night as they travel to UC San Diego.
(Courtesy CSULA)
