Men's Basketball 11/11/2016 4:57:00 PM

Toros Squeak By Hawks Behind Sadler's Game-High 23 Points, 13 Boards

Box Score RIVERSIDE -- Senior Justin Sadler kicked off his senior season in style with game-high totals in points (23) and rebounds (13) as Cal State Dominguez Hills held off a late Holy Names rally and squeaked by the Hawks in a 72-71 decision to begin the 2016-17 season.

The Toros earned the win over HNU for the third-straight time in the Cal Baptist-hosted tournament, using a 53 to 31 edge in rebounds to secure the contest to move to 1-0 on the year.

As a team, CSUDH shot just 32.8 percent from the floor, but enjoyed 20 more attempts at the foul line that translated into 14 more points via the charity stripe.

Led by Sadler's 13 rebounds, the Hawks managed just three more total boards than the Toros grabbed on the defensive end alone, with its 25 offensive rebounds leading to 26 second chance points.

The Toros scored the game's first nine points, keeping the lead at nine at 17-8 on a Khalil Bedart-Ghani bucket at the 12:56 mark.

HNU then went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to one, before taking its first lead of the game on a triple with 8:15 left in the opening stanza and taking a 39-30 lead into the break.

The Hawks maintained their nine-point lead with five minutes elapsed in the second half, before a Mikey Hatfield layup spurred an 11-6 run to bring the Toros to within 51-47, ending with a Sadler layup.

Down four with 10:35 left in the half, Khaliq Ghani drilled a 3-pointer, before his brother Bedart-Ghani hit the first of two free throw attempts to knot the game at 52-52.

Two more freebies by Ghahi gave the Toros breathing room, and a long-range triple and layup by Dharion Tanner pushed the lead to seven.

HNU narrowed its deficit to just two with 1:55 left, but a Vincent Golson layup and four-consecutive free throws with under a minute left kept the Hawks at bay.

With the Toros up 72-67, HNU hit four free throws down the stretch after two unnecessary fouls to get within 72-71, but that would end the scoring in the one-point decision.

Golson finished with a quiet 12 points before fouling out as the Toros tallied just four assists and 20 buckets.

Tanner contributed nine in the win, while matching Ghani with eight boards.

CSUDH will face a stiffer challenge tomorrow night as it battles host and PacWest preseason favorite Cal Baptist, with tipoff set for 3 pm in Van Dyne Gym.

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