No. 15 Toros Survive 67-65 Barnburner Against Game Otters Squad

(PHOTO: MICHAEL FOO)

Box Score

CARSON -- L.A. Laker Derek Fisher did it with 0.4, but CS Monterey Bay Otter Davion Barry missed with 0.7 as No. 15 Cal State Dominguez Hills survived a furious comeback and 34 points by CCAA leading scorer Barry en route to a 67-65 win Friday night in a spirited battle that saw four Toros score in double-figure scoring, led by Robert Willhite's 17 on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.

The Toros victory, coupled with Humboldt State's 64-61 win at Cal Poly Pomona tonight, keeps the Toros in second place in the CCAA, with five games left in the regular season, including a February 23 date in Arcata.

CS Monterey Bay showed early it was ready for battle, building an early 6-point lead on a pair of Barry free throws, and pushing it to 10 on two more Barry freebies coming at the 11:13 mark.

The Toros, however, behind Willhite's 12 first-half points, cut their deficit to 26-21 on a Marcquintice Davis bucket with just under 6 minutes left in the opening session, before taking a 33-31 lead on a Van Girard II basket and heading into the locker room with a 36-33 advantage.

CSUDH continued its hot shooting after the break as a 3-pointer by Girard gave the Toros their first of three 10-point leads at 45-35 with 16:14 left in regulation.

Behind Barry, however, who lit up the Toro defense for 24 points after the break and scored the final eight Otter points of the game, CSUMB came all the way back to take a 65-63 lead on third and final Barry triple before Davis hit a jumper from the corner with 0.7 left, giving CSUDH the final margin of victory at 67-65.

Barry finished with 34 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field, including 9-of-12 from the foul line.

In addition to Willhite's 17, Tim McLaurin, who carried the Toros offensively for a stretch in the second half, finished with 14, Davis 12 and James Cawthorne 10 to round out the quartet of double-figure scorers.

The Toros dominated the boards, 47 to 28, with 22 coming on the offensive end as no Otter claimed more than five boards in falling to 8-13, 6-11 CCAA.

CSUDH, which improved to 18-3, 14-3 CCAA, look to continue its winning ways tomorrow night as San Francisco State visits Carson for a 7:30 pm first tip. The game can be seen live via internet TV on www.GoToros.com/live .

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