Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team had its chances to post a big road victory against one of the California Collegiate Athletic Association's top teams, but stumbled down the stretch.
The Golden Eagles held a 51-44 lead with 1:37 to play, but Cal State Dominguez Hills closed the game with an 11-0 run to post a 55-51 win Thursday night in the Torodome. Cal State L.A. (10-10, 5-8 CCAA) lost its fourth straight game, while Cal State Dominguez Hills (15-5, 9-4 CCAA) snapped a two-game slide.
The Toros were aided by a controversial call late in the game. After Cal State Dominguez Hills pulled to within two points at 51-49 with 56 seconds to go,
Artis Gant was called for an intentional foul while trying to get open for an inbounds pass as Cal State L.A. was also trying to call timeout. The Toros got two free throws from Michael Hernandez to tie the game and then kept possession of the ball, scoring the go-ahead basket on a layup by Hernandez with 44 seconds left.
Cal State L.A. had a shot to tie the game by
Christofer Hart blocked by Jamel Ward with 15 seconds to go and then turned the ball over with eight seconds to go and Hernandez hit two free throws to ice the game with eight seconds remaining.
Cal State L.A. shot just 33.3 percent for the game, but limited Cal State Dominguez Hills to 35 percent and forced 18 turnovers while committing 16. The Toros had a 45-32 rebounding edge and enjoyed an edge at the free-throw line, where they were 13-of-15 while Cal State L.A. was 4-of-6.
Donte Bell scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Golden Eagles, while Gant had 11 points and
Chris Mark had eight points and six rebounds.
Hernandez had a game-high 22 points for Cal State Dominguez Hills, while Jerrell Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
It was a bitter end for a game that Cal State L.A., still missing injured leading scorer
Chris Fields, had seemingly turned around with another strong second-half showing. Cal State L.A. trailed by one point at halftime, 24-23 and fell behind by seven points, 30-23, with 16:44 remaining.
The Golden Eagles still trailed by six points, 33-27, before a 3-pointer by Bell started a 9-0 run that gave Cal State L.A. the lead. Bell hit a pair of free throws and scored on a layup to give the Golden Eagles a 34-33 edge and a layup by
Tyler Polo made it 36-33.
Cal State L.A. got back-to-back 3-pointers by Gant to open up a 47-39 lead with 5:11 to go and a jumper by Mark made it 49-41 with 4:10 to go.
The Golden Eagles still seemed in good shape after a steal by Hart and a layup by Bell gave them a 51-44 lead with 1:37 to go, but the Cal State L.A. didn't score again. A tip-in by Jamel Ward made it 51-46 and, after a Golden Eagle turnover, a 3-pointer by Hernandez made it 51-49 and set the stage for the controversial sequence of events that ultimately gave the Toros the lead for good.
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Saturday with a home game against UC San Diego.
