CARSON – Wonder Smith matched his career-high 28 points, Colten Kresl added 13 and Alex Garcia had 11 but turnovers eventually became costly as the Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball team fell to Chico State 86-81 to start year 2020 Saturday afternoon.
 
In a fierce matchup between the top rebounding teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Toros (8-6, 4-4 CCAA) did win that column 32-28. Kresl and Smith each had seven to lead the Toros while Justin Briggs led the Wildcats (11-3, 7-2 CCAA) with the same.
 
The turnovers eventually hurt the Toros in the game, giving up 27 points from their miscues. The Wildcats also capitalized on the free throw line, going 24-for-35.
 
Despite the loss, the Toros did end up shooting 44 percent (26-for-59) in the game, 48 percent (16-for-33) in the first half. The Wildcats, on the other hand, ended up hitting 48 percent (26-for-54) in the game but dominated the second half with a 50 percentile (14-for-29).
 
The first half belonged to the Toros, jumping out ahead 12-3 three minutes into the game and maintaining the lead all the way through the first half. Dominguez Hills ended up taking a 46-38 lead into the break.
 
After Chico State took its first lead (50-49) of the game 3:40 into the second half, the Toros had play keep-up for a majority of the period. At one point, the Toros fell behind by 68-57 with 8:14 left but did use a 10-0 run to get back to within one.
 
The Toros got to within 84-81 with 22 seconds left in the game. A pair of missed free throws by Colby Orr gave Dominguez Hills the opportunity to setup a game-tying 3-pointer. Kresl's first attempt missed but Kaden Bradley got the rebound, his attempt was recovered by a Wildcat to lock up the game.
 
Dominguez Hills hits the road again to take on Cal State San Bernardino Thursday at 7:30 p.m.