CARSON –
Jonathan Nichols yet again reached new heights in his career scoring a career-high 36 points for the second consecutive game while adding eight 3-point baskets to be one short from the single-game record as Cal State Dominguez Hills' men's basketball team edged Cal State LA after the crosstown rivals nearly erased a 35-point deficit at the Torodome Saturday night.
The second straight win keeps the Toros (10-14, 7-14) in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament hunt. They currently sit in a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with Sonoma State with five games remaining.
Dominguez Hills had a dominant first half, highlighted by shooting 64 percent from the field. After a pair of Golden Eagle free throws, the Toros finished the final eight minutes of the period outscoring the opponent 30-6 to take a 60-33 lead into halftime. Nichols had already scored 27 points by intermission, including seven threes.
A
Ralph Agee layup gave the Toros a 75-40 lead for the largest margin on the night with 15:38 to go.
The deficit proved to be crucial after the Golden Eagles outscored the Toros 58-30 within the final 15 minutes of the game. Cal State LA got as close as six points with 30 seconds left.
While Nichols was the highlight of the game, the Toros also had
Deondre Otis come up short from a rare triple-double. He already had 14 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds.
Matt Hayes also had 14 points on the night while
Malcolm Johnson and
Ralph Agee had 10.
The Toros shot a season second-best 55.7 percent overall while making year-best 15 3-pointers.
CSUDH will make a visit to Northern California to seek vengeance at Cal State East Bay Friday and Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday. Both are 7:30 p.m. starts. Both the Pioneers and Otters came away with wins over the Toros in the conference-opening weekend in November.
