Box Score
LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team came up painfully short in its rematch with No. 17 Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday in the Eagles Nest.
The Golden Eagles got a season-high 24 points from
Franklin Session, but Cal State L.A. dropped a 53-51 California Collegiate Athletic Association decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Golden Eagles (6-2, 2-2) lost for the second time this season to the Toros (7-1, 3-1 CCAA).
Both teams shot 34.5 percent for the game, Cal State L.A. hitting 20-of-58 shots while Cal State Dominguez Hills was 19-of-55. The Golden Eagles knocked down 8-of-23 of their 3-point attempts, while Cal State Dominguez Hills was 6-of-18. Cal State L.A. forced 16 turnovers while committing 13.
The Toros, though, had a 44-34 edge in rebounding and also made 9-of-11 free throws, while the Golden Eagles were just 3-of-9.
Session led all scorers with 24 points, 23 of them in the first half while keeping the Golden Eagles in the game.
Ryan Wetherell had 12 points, while
Chris Robinson had nine points.
The Toros were led by Marquintice Davis, who scored 17 points, 15 of them in the opening half. Zareh Zargaryan had a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.
The game was action-packed with most of the offensive fireworks happening in the first half. The largest lead of the game was seven points when the Toros opened up a 33-26 lead following a 3-pointer by Davis.
A 3-pointer and steal and dunk by Session sliced the lead down to two points, 33-31, before a 3-pointer by Zargaryan pushed the lead back to five. A late 3-pointer by Wetherell brought the Golden Eagles to within two points at halftime, 36-34.
Session and Davis accounted for 38 of the combined 70 points in the opening half.
Both defenses clamped down in the second half and each team managed only 17 points over the final 20 minutes. The Toros made only five baskets in the second half, while the Golden Eagles made only seven.
The Toros used a 6-0 run to snap a 40-40 tie with all six points coming from free throws. Zargaryan, James Cawthorne and Robert Willhite made two each during the run.
A 3-pointer by Robinson cut the deficit in half and a later 3-pointer by Wetherell made it 50-48 with 4:20 to go. Session made one of two free throws to make it 50-49 and Tim McLaurin made one of two free throws to make it 51-49 with 3:28 remaining.
Cal State L.A. missed its next four shots, a pair of free throws and turned the ball over before a layup by Davis stretched the lead to 53-49 with 22 seconds remaining. Cal State L.A. missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left and, after Davis missed the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds to go, Wetherell made a layup with one second remaining to account for the final score.
Cal State L.A. will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 30 with a conference game against Chico State.
