Toros Leave No Doubt in 83-54 Romp at Chico State

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Chico, CA -- Still stinging after blowing a 13-point lead at home to CS Monterey Bay last Saturday, the Toros left no doubt as to the size of their collective heart in an 83-54 dismantling of Chico State in Chico tonight, making up for last weekend's loss with a huge CCAA road win. Jonathan Toliver's 13 points led five Toros in double-figure scoring in the victory.

After a shocking road loss to the Wildcats in last season's regular season finale that may have cost the CSUDH an NCAA postseason bid, the Toros avenged that defeat in a big way as they jumped all over the Wildcats early in racing to a 40-26 lead at the break, tallying a 16-0 edge in points in the paint, bolstered by a 20-7 advantage in points off the bench.

Leading by as few as four at 9-5 after a Robert Willhite jumper with 12 minutes to go in the first, the Toros went on a 14-6 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a commanding 25-11 lead after a pair of Michael Hernandez foul shots, eventually settling for that same 14 point edge on a Hernandez trey at the buzzer.

The second half was more of the same as CSUDH scored 25 of the second half's first 31 points in a span of 10 minutes to put the game out of reach early. The lead grew to as large as 35 points at 76-41 after two free throws by Shaun Engle, before a Chico State 13-7 run to close the game provided the final scoring margin.

CSUDH shot a sizzling 69.6% from the floor in the first half and 58.8% for the game, while holding the hosts to just 25% in the first period, and 29.8% for the contest.

The taller and more athletic Toros garnered a huge 38-21 advantage on the boards, while draining 75% of their free throws, including 14-of-19 in the second half.

In addition to Toliver's production, Rodney Yearby chipped in with 12 points and 5 boards, Hernandez 11 points and 7 assists, while Willhite and James Cawthorne tallied 10 apiece in the blowout.

CSUDH, now 11-3, 5-2 CCAA, looks for a road sweep tomorrow night in Turlock after Cal State Stanislaus picked up its first CCAA win of the year in a 73-71 win over Cal State L.A. tonight. First tip for tomorrow's contest is set for 7:30 pm.

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