CARSON –
Alex Garcia matched the number on his jersey with 24 points for a career-high,
Kaden Bradley scored 10 and came up two rebounds short from a double-double as the Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team got an early Thanksgiving celebration with an 80-73 win over Purdue Northwest Wednesday afternoon for their sixth straight victory.
The win caps a 4-2 non-conference record for the Toros (6-2), who will now finish the regular season in California Collegiate Athletic Association play starting December 5 at Cal State East Bay at 7:30 p.m. The Toros are 2-0 to start league play.
Wonder Smith contributed with 17 points while
Colten Kresl added 14 along with a team-high three assists. The Toros (6-2) ended the day shooting 52.5 percent from the field.
Purdue Northwest (2-3), meanwhile, shot 44.1 percent with a dozen of those field goals coming from 3-point range. Five different players combined for 37 points off the bench with Gregory Boyle leading the effort with 13.
The Toros also won the rebounding department for the sixth straight contest, out-rebounding the Pride, 37-33.
Garcia reached the halfway point of his 24-point night 5:30 into the ball game. Although the Toros had a seven-point lead early in the contest, the Pride eventually recovered and tied the game at 19 with 11 minutes remaining in the half. The Pride went on an eight-point run to build their largest lead in the game before Kresl connected a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding.
Although Smith made a jumper to tie the game, Jordan Doss got a 3-pointer near the end of the period to give the Pride a 46-43 lead at halftime.
Both sides never led by more than five for the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Toros took complete control of the game with an 8-2 run to take a 70-60 lead with 6:14 left.
