CARSON — Home court advantage has been true to its word when it comes to crosstown rivals Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA.
After the Golden Eagles used the Eagles Nest to blow out the Toros last month, the Toros followed suit at the Torodome Saturday by running away to an 80-64 victory to split the season series.
It was also a big night for senior Justin Sadler, who came into tonight's game needing 39 points to reach 1,000 in a career. He moved to within 15 after scoring 23 points and was a rebound short from completing a double-double.
Dharion Tanner also came up important for the Toros (10-8, 6-6 CCAA) by scoring 14 of his 17 points in the first period that helped the Cardinal and Gold take a 45-40 halftime lead. Deondre Otis and Khalil Bedart-Ghani had 14 and 12 points, respectively, to round out the Toros in double figures.
The biggest change aside the win was field goal percentage. The Toros shot a cold 28.1 percent in Los Angeles but at home they went 47.4.
The Golden Eagles (11-11, 6-7 CCAA) finished the night shooting 37.5 percent from the field. Roderick Evans-Taylor came up one point short from matching the 16 points he scored in the last meeting.
Rebounding was also a difference in the game as the Toros dominated teh boards 42-29.
Cal State LA got off to an early 10-2 lead 4:20 into the contest. The 8-point lead was the largest for the Golden Eagles in the period.
A brief momentum on the Toros side allowed them to erase the deficit and put them up front 17-16 at the midpoint of the half. Much like the Golden Eagles, CSUDH had led by as many as eight in the period.
The Toros had never trailed in the second half. Cal State LA got as close as to one point with 16:18 left but a 12-3 CSUDH run in the span of five minutes gave them a 61-51 lead.
Although the Toros forced a dozen turnovers on the Golden Eagles, they did commit 11 of their own.
The Toros hit the road for the next two contests, starting with Cal Poly Pomona Thursday and across the state at Humboldt State Saturday. Both are 7:30 p.m. starts. CSUDH picked up wins against both teams at the Torodome earlier in the month.
