RIVERSIDE - The Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team nearly pulled off an upset, but ultimately fell by a mere five points, 83-78, to No. 14 California Baptist, Friday at CBU Events Center.
 
It was the season opener for both teams. The Lancers improve to 1-0, while the Toros drop to 0-1.
 
Freshman forward Malcolm Johnson led CSUDH with a double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guards Khalil Bedart-Ghani, Jonathan Nichols and Matt Hayes pitched in with 14 points each. As a team, the Toros shot 49.2 percent (31-63) from the field and 38.9 percent (7-18) from behind the arc.
 
Both teams traded baskets to start the game before CSUDH went on a 13-2 run and took its biggest lead of the game, 23-16, with 12:59 remaining in the first half. CBU caught up and grabbed a two-point advantage, 44-42, with less than two minutes left before the intermission. The Toros closed out the half with a 6-0 run, capped off by a Bedart-Ghani steal and fastbreak layup with the time expiring to grab a 48-44 lead.
 
The second half belonged to the Lancers as they outscored the Toros 39-30 in the half. CSUDH could only score in spurts as CBU took its biggest lead, 71-62, with 5:44 remaining. The Toros closed the gap to two, 80-78, on a Jonathan Nichols 3-pointer with 1:21 left, but could not get anything else the rest of the way and fell by five.
 
CSUDH will stay in Riverside and face Holy Names on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.