SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros battled their way to a hard-fought 65-62 victory over No. 23 Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday afternoon at Coussoulis Arena. With the win, the Toros improved to 10-3 overall and 6-0 in CCAA play, remaining unbeaten in conference action.

The Toros came out strong in the first half, building a 38-28 lead by halftime. Jeremy Dent-Smith paced the offense with a dominant 18-point performance in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and knocking down two three-pointers. Adam Afifi controlled the boards with six rebounds while adding six points, and Alex Garcia contributed seven points and two assists. Dominguez Hills shot an efficient 53.6% from the field in the first half and forced seven turnovers to stifle the Coyotes.

The second half turned into a tight contest as San Bernardino mounted a comeback. The Coyotes briefly took the lead with under two minutes to play, but the Toros held their composure down the stretch. Dent-Smith hit a crucial three-pointer to cut the deficit to one, and Garcia followed with the go-ahead jumper with 33 seconds remaining. Afifi delivered the final blow at the free-throw line, sinking two clutch shots with eight seconds left to secure the win.

Dent-Smith led all scorers with 24 points, adding four assists and three rebounds in a stellar outing. Garcia finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two steals, including the decisive basket in the final seconds. Afifi posted 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, shooting 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. David Cheatom contributed seven points and four rebounds off the bench, and DJ Guest added three points and three rebounds and Jordan Hilstock grabbed five steals, anchoring the defense.

The Toros will look to continue their unbeaten run in conference play as they travel to face Cal State San Marcos on Thursday, January 9th, at 7:30 p.m. in another CCAA matchup.