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Men's Basketball

CSUDH Locks Up CCAA Tournament Berth in Gritty 81-74 OT Win on "Senior Day"

Box Score
Carson, CA -- Twenty-four hours after a lackluster performance saw Cal State Dominguez Hills let a golden opportunity slip through its collective fingers, the Toros tonight showed why they've risen from the doormat into a tie for 4th place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference, taking an 81-74 overtime win against visiting San Francisco State to sweep the season series and earn a CCAA Conference Tournament first round hosting berth with two more wins in next weekend's final two regular season games.
   
Both teams came out with the urgency befitting a game that had possible first-round hosting duties on the line, tying three times in the first 10 minutes of play.  After Jerrell Smith completed an old-fashioned three point play to give the Toros a 17-16 lead at the 11:10 mark, CSUDH reeled off a 7-2 run to push the advantage to 24-18 just three minutes later.  The edge hovered around the 6-point mark until SFSU's Robert Hayes connected for a long trey at 3:14 to cut the Gator deficit to 31-28, but the Toros answered right back to take a 42-34 lead behind eight points each from Michael Hernandez and Rodney Yearby.
   
The Toros built the game's sole double-figure lead at 44-34 on a Hernandez jumper to open the second half, but the Gators used a 10-1 run to cut CSUDH's lead to one on an Alex Thomas 3-pointer.  The Toros answered again behind five points from Nonso Nibo and a Jamaal Barnes jam after a tremendous Mike Steed block that thwarted a Gator fast break to take a 53-46 lead, but Hayes again drained a three to keep SFSU in striking distance.
   
That distance became smaller after Derek Fletcher converted on a layup, and then nonexistent after a pair of Chris Rodriguez free throws.  Smith and Barnes answered with three freebies to give CSUDH a 56-53 lead with 8:30 left in regulation, until a Will Logan free throw tied the game at 56-56 at the 6:38 mark, after which the two teams split the next 22 points to send the game into overtime knotted at 67-67.
   
In the extra frame, three-consecutive buckets sent the Toros out quickly, and not even a Rodriguez trifecta that cut the lead in half could slow the newly invigorated CSUDH train.  Two more Hernandez baskets gave the Toros a commanding 77-70 lead with 73 ticks left in the extra session, and Barnes tallied the final four points for the Toros, including a thunderous dunk with 24 seconds left that put an exclamation point on the 81-74 win.
   
Hernandez's 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line led five Toros in double-figure scoring as CSUDH outshot SFSU 54.4% to 41.3%.  SFSU kept it close from beyond the arc with 10 makes to the Toros' three, but CSUDH's nine blocks, including five by Smith that brings him within two of tying the single season record of 52 blocks, and 21 forced turnovers more than made up for the Gators' long-range shooting.
   
Hayes led all scorers with 24 points in the losing effort, draining just 9 of 23 shots, while Rodriguez finished with 13.     
   
Prior to the contest, the Toros honored three seniors playing in their final regular season home game in Barnes, Nibo and Steed.  The Toros, now 15-9, 10-8 CCAA, travel to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus to conclude the 2007-08 regular season, and can clinch a first round home game with two wins.
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