Toros Dominate No. 24 BYU-Hawai'i in Season Opener, 81-54

Box Score

CARSON -- One game does not a season make. But if tonight's dominating 81-54 victory over No. 24-ranked BYU-Hawai'i was any indication, there will be lots of smiles in Carson well into the month of March as Cal State Dominguez Hills scored the first seven points and never looked back, led by Tim McLaurin's 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and a commanding 48-24 rebound edge.

The hosts jumped to an early 7-0 lead, stretching it to a 22-9 lead on a McLaurin triple at the 8:36 mark. Bolstered by another run, this time by a 18-7 count, the lead blossomed to 40-16 with just under two minutes left in the half, before a Robert Willhite bucket with 27 ticks left accounted for the first half 47-20 score.

The lead grew to as large as 31 twice in the second half, and up to 32 on a Ricardo de la Rosa bucket at the 7:42 mark, before the Seasiders whittled their deficit to 29 on a Marques Whippy jumper with 3:43 left, and to the final margin on a SeQuan Lawrence layup with 36 seconds in regulation.

The Toros dominated the glass, doubling BYUH's rebound total, including 17 on the offensive end. CSUDH's size also played a dramatic role in points in the pant, tallying a 34-8 advantage in the blowout.

CSUDH shot 53.6% from the field compared to just 35.6% for the visitors, and an even 50% from behind the arc, while BYUH rattled in just 8 of 29 attempts.

The Toros' season continues against another ranked opponent later this week as CSUDH travels to Phoenix to battle No. 3 St. Cloud in the GCU Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, November 19.

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