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Men's Basketball

No. 20 Toros Move into CCAA Semi With 75-59 Win Over Chico State


CARSON -- One point fewer, but one much better result.  After scoring 76 points in each of its victories over Chico State in the regular season, the 20th-ranked Toros began their second season with a 75-59 win over the visiting Wildcats in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament in front of a raucous and pro-CSUDH crowd.  Robert Willhite led a balanced attack with 16 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line.

For their efforts, the Toros will play in Friday's first semifinal against No. 5 seed and defending NCAA Champion Cal Poly Pomona, which upset No. 4 seed San Francisco State 69-66 in San Francisco, scheduled for 12:30 pm on the campus of host Cal State East Bay.

The other semifinal will pit top-seeded and No. 3 Humboldt State against sixth-seeded Cal State L.A., which upset third-seeded CS San Bernardino 66-60.

The winners will then move on to the CCAA Championship Tournament title game Saturday at 5:00 pm, with the CCAA Tournament crown and an automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Tournament at stake.

Looking nothing like a team that had lost 3 of its last 4, the Toros played like the team that had won 16 of its first 17 to start the year after taking an 18-8 lead with 8:32 elapsed in the game and maintaining their double-digit lead into the locker room at 34-24.

Unlike last year's first-round conference match-up in which the Wildcats reversed roles with the host Toros, CSUDH continued its aggressive and purposeful play, answering Chico State's flurries with their own.

After 6-consecutive points by Roderick Hawkins brought the lead to just 49-42 at the 12:48 mark, two Amir Aguilar foul shots, a Tim McLaurin jumper and an Aguilar flush brought CSUDH's lead back to 13, before six-consecutive Willhite free throws after a Wildcat bucket gave the hosts their largest lead of the night at 61-43 nearly three minutes later.

A valiant push by Chico State cut its lead to 9, the last coming via a Jay Flores three, but CSUDH scored the next five points to give them more breathing room, all but putting the game away.

The lead was 74-57 with 91 ticks left when James Cawthorne, CSUDH's lone four-year senior, was subbed out to a rousing ovation after finishing with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, with fellow seniors Aguilar, Zareh Zargaryah and Marcquintice Davis all following suit 15 seconds later, additionally with their double-figure contributions.

Cawthorne finished with 12 points on the night, with Davis and Aguilar with 11 and Michael Cox and Zargaryan with 10 apiece.

As a team, CSUDH shot 50.9% from the floor and out-rebounded the Wildcats 44-29 in the win to counter 19 points from Hawkins, 12 from Terren Pellum and 10 from Flores.

In a marked difference from last year's tournament contest, the Toros sank 20-of-26 from the foul line compared to just 4-of-12.

The Toros, now 21-6, will face the Broncos on Friday at 12:30 pm in the first CCAA semifinal, after splitting the regular season series with each team winning on its home court.

In the first meeting, CSUDH toppled the top-ranked Broncos in overtime, before CPP held the Toros to just 10 second-half points in a 49-43 come-from-behind win in the rematch.
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