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CSUDH Hangs On For 88-82 Win Over a Game Gator Squad

Box Score
Carson, CA -- Cal State Dominguez Hills gained its first lead of tonight's game against visiting San Francisco State at 17:27 in the second half, but that spark proved vital as the Toros held off a game Gator squad 88-82 on a cool Friday night in the Torodome, pushing their record to 10-2, 4-1 CCAA.  Michael Hernandez led CSUDH with 20 points in the win.

The visiting Gators gave the Toros a taste of their own medicine in the early going, playing stifling defense and attacking on offense in scoring the game' first seven points.  CSUDH cut its deficit to two just twice in the first period of play behind a Jerrell Smith free throw and Marvin Bettis bucket, but SFSU stretched its lead to as much as 9 on two occasions before settling for a 39-36 edge heading into the half.

The Toros came out strong after the break as a Hernandez layup at 18:15 got them to within 41-40, after which a Jonathan Toliver trey gave the hosts their first lead of the game at 43-41.

Undeterred, the Gators roared back on a Darryl Robinson 3-pointer to regain the lead at 46-45, again stretching it to 49-45 on a Phoenix O'Rourke bomb.  Matching the guests effort, however, CSUDH connected for another 3 of its own courtesy of #Shaun Engle at 12:44 for a 52-51 lead, before an Engle foul shot a minute later pushed the lead to 55-53.

Consecutive 3-pointers brought the Gators back into the lead, and consecutive foul shots by Robert Hayes, who scored a game-high 32, and a Martin Flores jumper looked to give SFSU a commanding lead at 65-58 with 7:25 left in regulation.

But the Toros answered again with buckets by Toliver, Ryan Walton and a three by Hernandez, giving CSUDH a 69-68 lead with 5:03 remaining.

That's where the game remained, nip and tuck, over the next four minutes until a Toliver 3-pointer at 1:36 led the Toros on a 10-7 scoring surge to give them the final 88-82 margin of victory.

In addition to Hernandez's 20 points, Smith added 18, Jamel Ward 13, Toliver 11 and Walton 10 in CSUDH's balanced attack, while the hosts punished SFSU on the boards by more than double at 46 to 22. 

Free throw shooting, which has given the Toros trouble in the past, was an ally tonight as CSUDH converted on 30-of-42 for the contest, led by Hernandez's 11-for-12 and Smith's 8-for-12 efforts.

Hayes led all scorers after connecting on 15-of-16 shots from the charity stripe to aid his 7-of-16 night from the floor, while O'Rourke's 13, Robinson's 12 and Will Logan's 10 rounded out the double-figure Gator scorers.

CSUDH, now 10-2, 4-1 CCAA, continues conference home action tomorrow night as Cal State Monterey Bay visits Carson for a 7:30 pm first tip in the Torodome.
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