Box Score

San Bernardino, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills misfired early and often from the foul line, and even a spirited second half charge couldn't undo the first half damage as the Toros saw their 2007-08 season come to an end in a 66-61 loss to Cal Poly Pomona in the late CCAA semifinal match-up.  With the loss, CSUDH ends an inspiring campaign at 17-11, the highest win total the Toros have reached in 12 years, and marks the end for three seniors in Jamaal Barnes, Nonso Nibo and Mike Steed, who played in the final game of their Toro careers.

After Jerrell Smith put the Toros up 2-0 with the game's first bucket, the Broncos scored 11 unanswered points to take control of the contest.  A long 3-pointer by Jonathan Toliver brought the Toros to within 11-7 at the 14:25 mark, but CPP's Angelo Tsagarakis answered with his own 3-ball five minutes later to give the Broncos a 9-point edge at 26-17.

CPP pushed its lead to 30-19 on a pair of Tsagarakis free throws, eventually settling for a 33-26 lead entering the break.  In the first half, the Toros shot 42.3% from the field compared to the Broncos' 44%, but missed 6 of 8 free throws compared to CPP's four misses in 12 tries.

After the break, the Toros cut the lead to 35-33 on a Toliver 3-pointer, only to see the Broncos respond with a 9-4 run to push their lead up to 44-37 with 15:47 left in regulation.

With just 10 minutes left and Pomona up 50-40, a Danny Tavares jam and lay-up quickly cut CPP's lead to just six, and after a Pomona bucket stalled CSUDH's run, a Toliver 3-pointer brought the Toros to within striking distance at 52-47.  Capitalizing on their momentum, another Toliver trey brought the Toros to within 54-50, after which a Barnes lay-up whittled the deficit to two with 5 minutes left in the game.

A Bronco time out ensued, but after a CPP player control foul gave the Toros the ball, Michael Hernandez found Barnes floating towards the basket, and Barnes put the ball through the net with a reverse alley-oop stuff to tie the game at 54-54.

Again tied at 59-59 after a 3-pointer by Barnes, CSUDH took its second lead of the ballgame, and first since 2-0, after a Nibo steal and lay-up, only to see CPP's Kaelen Daniels give the Broncos the lead again on an old-fashioned 3-point play. 

Larry Gordon added two free throws to increase the Bronco lead to 64-61 with just 24 ticks left, giving the Toros a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer.  Working the ball to CSUDH's best 3-point shooter, Toliver gained control but misfired on a 25-foot attempt.  But after Smith controlled the offensive board, his pass to Toliver sailed high and out of bounds, sealing CSUDH's fate as the Broncos nailed their final two free throws in the 66-61 win.

Toliver led the Toros with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field, while Barnes chipped in 10 in the loss.  Smith and Rodney Yearby, who were named co-CCAA Newcomers of the Year, were limited to nine and two points, respectively.

Gordon led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Daniels and Tsagarakis added 15 apiece.

“The game was lost in the first 10 minutes.  Pomona plays a possession game, and it was a Herculean effort to catch up,” begins CSUDH head coach Damaine Powell.  “I feel for my team because we really wanted to keep playing, but we missed our free throws and they made theirs in the end.

“I'm very proud of my seniors,” Powell continues.  “They built this program to where it is now, being regionally ranked the whole second half to season, and we'll continue to improve upon this year's effort.”