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Men's Basketball

Toros' Season Ends in 84-71 Loss to Top Seeded BYU-Hawai'i


Laie, HI -- Cal State Dominguez Hills saw its best season in 21 years come to an end after No. 3 ranked and top-seeded BYU-Hawai'i knocked the Toros from the NCAA postseason in a second round 84-71 defeat. The Toros end their season on a 22-8 mark, tying the mark for the most wins in the program's history.  Leading on the night was Jerrell Smith who tallied 16 points, 6 boards and 4 blocks on his way to breaking the CSUDH career block mark.

"We really needed to focus on a couple of things to get the win in taking away the center aisles, stopping the point guard and stopping their three-point shooting," says head coach Damaine Powell after the game. "BYU-Hawai'i made some winning plays and that is what good teams do. We have won these kinds of games all year but it just didn't go our way tonight."

Facing a fierce and fast BYU-Hawai'i in front of a roaring home crowd, the Toros sprinted to an 11-4 lead after a James Cawthorne trey from a Jamel Ward assist.  Behind a Rodney Yearby free throw at 16:12, CSUDH would enjoy its final seven-point lead of the first half.

The Seasiders answered behind a Lucas Alves three to bring themselves within one point before taking their first lead of the half at 17-16 off a Tsung-Hsein Chang bucket with 13:19 remaining, an early indicator of big shots to come from Chang on the night.

Forced to alter their defensive strategy and pack the paint down low, Smith grabbed his second block of the night with 3:16 left, subsequently establishing the CSUDH all-time career block record with his 97th rejection in his career.  This block started a rally for the Toros which brought them as close as seven in the half before the Seasiders eventually took a 42-33 lead into the break.

Both Yearby and Smith started the offensive thrust in the second, with both All-CCAA selections driving through the Seasider defense with 11:30 left to bring the Toros to within five at 54-49.

What followed was a constant game of catch-up as the Toros continued to pound the ball inside, with Smith and Ryan Walton earned some inside scores to bring the Toros within three on two occasions mid-way through the period.

Senior Michael Hernandez then used his deft touch from outside to bring the Toros to a 59-59 tie with exactly 8:00 minutes left in regulation after a 10-footer found its way through the hoop.

The Toros then buckled down on the glass, doubling the first-half rebounding mark of 18 with still three minutes left in play, compared to just eight in the second up to that point.

A held ball between Jonathan Toliver and BYUH's Nathan Sims gave possession back to the Toros, but Chang would hit a three and drive to the hole for a couple of buckets, all but sealing the deal for the Seasiders.

 Forced to jack up three-pointers, misses allowed BYUH to generate easy buckets to account for the final score, although the game was much closer than the 13-point difference.

Leading overall on the night was Smith with 16 points, 6 boards and 4 blocks, his second of which broke the all-time career mark.  Close behind him was Yearby with 13 points and an additional 6 rebounds while Toliver and Walton rounded out scoring with respective 11 and 10 points. Hernandez made key steals when needed with 2 on the night while also dishing 3 assists.

Though besting the Seasiders on the glass with 38 boards to BYUH's 33, and even posting better shooting from the floor, 47.5% to 46.8% it ultimately came down to the charity line.  BYUH went for 18-23 from the line while the Toros would only go 7-10, the deciding factor on the night.

Ending 2008-09 with a record of 22-8, coach Powell guided his team to tie for the winningest record in the history of CSUDH men's basketball, but knows his work is far from done.

"Our five starting seniors, through a lot of hard work, turned the program around and took us to new heights," says Powell, reflecting on the tremendous season and what lies ahead.  "We have a good nucleus and we go back to work now. There are teams in our conference that have one good year then go back to the bottom, but our coaching staff likes to compete.

"We look forward to this experience as we will be successful in the coming years," he closes.
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