SAN MARCOS -- Cal State Dominguez Hills enjoyed its best shooting percentage of the year after hitting 60.8% of it shots from the floor and 57.9% from 3-point land as the red-hot Toros picked up their fifth-straight win, taking an 85-77 decision at Cal State San Marcos this afternoon.

Jalen Brown scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, nailing a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown to move CSUDH into sole possession of 2nd place in the CCAA standings.

In a tightly-fought contest in which there were 13 lead changes and seven ties, CSUDH's offensive acumen and 5-0 advantage in blocks provided the difference.

After the hosts began the scoring with a deep triple, a Za-Ontay Boothman triple of his own and Josiah Sanders jumper gave the Toros an early 5-3 lead.

Tied at 20 all, a pair of 3-pointers by DaSean Stevens and Boothman gave the Toros 6-point edge, with Brown making it 28-20 after a Cougar turnover, and Boothman nailing another triple to give CSUDH a 31-20 lead with 8:26 left in the half.

The Cougars, however, answered with a 12-0 run to take the lead five minutes later, with the teams tying twice more down the stretch before the Toros took a 38-36 lead into the half, courtesy of a pair of Luke Lin freebies.

The Toros continued to keep CSUSM at arm's length to begin the second half, maintaining a 61-54 lea midway through the period after Jayden Johnston's second straight free throw.

Lin pushed CSUDH's lead to 71-60 four minutes later, only to have the Cougars reel off a 9-0 run to get to within two points with 4:10 left in regulation.

David Cheatom stopped CSUSM's momentum with a pair of made free throws, and converted a layup at the 1:34 mark to give CSUDH an 80-75 lead.

After the Cougars answered with a bucket, the Toros' defense intensified, causing three consecutive 3-point misses while CSUDH added five more points to secure the 85-77 win.

Boothman finished with 16 points, Stevens 14 and Cheatom 11, with Stevens collecting a team-high eight boards.

CSUDH used its height in the paint to the tune of a 38 to 22 advantage in points in the paint.

The Toros will travel to crosstown-rival Cal State L.A. on Thursday, January 22, before hosting the Golden Eagles two days later in the Torodome.