Williams' Career High 31 Not Enough as No. 14 CSUSB Squeaks By Toros on Faculty Appreciation Night

Box Score

CARSON -- They may be on opposite ends of the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, but No. 14 Cal State San Bernardino survived a high-intensity 81-75 contest despite a career-high 31 points by senior Pierson Williams, who drained 11-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-13 from 3-point land on "Faculty Appreciation Night."

The win gives the Yotes sole possession of first place in the CCAA after Cal Poly Pomona dropped a double-overtime thriller at Cal State Stanislaus, while the Toros fall to 7-21, 4-17 CCAA.

The records went out the window tonight in the Torodome as the Toros took an early 10-3 lead after a pair of Darnell Martin free throws.

A Jordan Burris triple minutes later tied the game at 14-all, with the teams splitting the next six points.

That's when the Yotes went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game, pushing its lead to as much as 15 at 36-21 before settling for a 36-25 lead entering the break after a Justin Sadler tip-in, a preview of things to come from the true freshman, and an appetizer of things to come from Williams.

Williams started to feel it after hitting just 1-of-3 from the field for just two points in the first 20-minute period, nailing eight 3s of his 11 total buckets, starting his surge at the 18:14 mark.

Williams continued to sizzle from behind the arc, connecting at 15:33, 11:48, 10:51, 10:33, 4:53, 1:05 and :32, the last bringing CSUDH to within five points, to nearly single-handedly will the Toros to victory over the 14th-ranked team in the nation.

Sadler also enjoyed a breakout game with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Everett Turner tallied a game-high 8 assists, only to have the Yotes' balance of four double-figure scorers proving too tough to overcome.

At halftime of the game, CSUDH honored selected faculty members on "Faculty Appreciation Night" to thank them for their dedication and support to the Athletics program.

CSUDH will conclude its 2013-14 season tomorrow against UC San Diego, honoring six seniors in Givon Crump, Moriba DeFreitas, DeShaun Freeman, Steffon Neal, Justin Standley and Williams in a pregame ceremony.

Print Friendly Version