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Men's Basketball

No. 20 Toros Advance to CCAA Title Game After 63-49 Win Over Cal Poly Pomona


HAYWARD -- "To be the best," the adage goes, "you've got to beat the best." 

And after tying the program record with its 22nd victory of the year with a balanced 63-49 win over the defending NCAA National Champion Cal Poly Pomona Broncos in which four players scored in double figures, the 20th-ranked Toros are not only one win away from breaking that mark, but also from winning the CCAA Tournament Championship for the first time since 1987.

The 20th-ranked Toros looked like the team that raced to a 16-1 record to begin the year and throttled Chico State in the first round of the CCAA Tournament last Tuesday after racing out to a 24-6 lead after the first 11:30 of play over the Broncos, and entering the break up 31-18.

After connecting on its second shot of a game for a 3-2 lead at the 17:52 mark, CPP was held scoreless until 8:13, a span of 9 minutes, 39 seconds.

First-team All-CCAA selection Marcquintice Davis (pictured) led a balanced attack with 7 points on 3-of-6 shooting as the Toros used an early 11-0 run to take a 19-4 lead, stretching it to 24-6 with 8:30 in the first half on a pair of Amir Aguilar free throws.

Zareh Zargaryan and James Cawthorne all added five in the first half, with Robert Willhite, Michael Cox and Tim McLaurin chipping in four points each.

CSUDH used its size and length to a huge 24-9 rebound edge in the first 20 minutes, highlighted by 12 on the offensive end including 7 in the first eight minutes, with Willhite and Zargaryan tying with a team-high 4 boards each.

The second half saw the Broncos show the heart that made them the 2010 NCAA Champion, cutting their deficit to single digits five minutes in, before a Willhite lay-up push CSUDH's edge to double-figures for good, this bucket coming with 13:34 left in regulation.

A Willhite freebie seven minutes later gave CSUDH another 18-point edge, all by taking the steam out of the Bronco engine, with the Toros' advantage hovering around the 15-point mark the rest of the way en route to its 14-point victory.

CSUDH connected for 43.5% of its shots from the floor, with Davis' game-high 13 points leading four Toros in double-figure scoring, and one with nine.

The Toros' length contributed to a commanding 42-25 rebounding edge for the game, while free throws, once a sore spot for CSUDH, were drained at a 72.4% clip (21-for-29).

CSUDH, now 22-6, will meet the No. 3 and CCAA regular season champion Humboldt State in Saturday's 5:00 pm title game after the 'Jacks took a 70-61 win over Cal State L.A. in the second semifinal.

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