LOS ANGELES – Cal State L.A.'s men's basketball team got its California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule off on the right foot.

The Golden Eagles used a balanced scoring attack and some stout second-half defense to beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 76-66, Saturday night in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. (3-1, 1-0 CCAA) bounced back nicely from its non-conference loss to California Baptist one week earlier.

Quinton Watkins had a game-high 24 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who got scoring from all 10 players who saw action on the court Saturday. Duce Zaid had 12 points and James Tillman added 10 points.

Givon Crump had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Toros (3-3, 0-1 CCAA). DeShaun Freeman had 16 points.

Cal State L.A. shot an efficient 49.1 percent (27-of-55) while holding Cal State Dominguez Hills to just 39.2 percent (20-of-51). The Toros were just 6-of-22 in the second half.

The Golden Eagles had a slim 36-33 rebounding edge and also had 13 turnovers to 16 for the Toros.

Cal State Dominguez Hills was 20-of-27 from the free-throw line, while Cal State L.A. was 14-of-23.

Solomon Singer had eight points in 23 minutes off the bench and hit all four of his field-goal attempts.

The Golden Eagles hit half of their 16 attempts from 3-point range, with Watkins leading the way with a 5-for-9 performance. Zaid, Davon Potts and David Hall also hit 3-pointers.

The Golden Eagles led nearly all the way, although the Toros stayed within striking distance until the end. Cal State L.A. led by as many as 10 points in the first half and finally took a 10-point lead in the second half with three minutes to go.

The Toros led early, 5-3, after a 3-pointer by Crump, but the Golden Eagles broke a 7-7 tie with a 10-1 run to open up a 17-8 advantage. Solomon started the scoring with a layup, Hall and Potts hit 3-pointers and Adarryl Thomas hit a jumper to give the Golden Eagles their nine-point lead.

The Toros tied it again at 19-19, but the Golden Eagles went on another run and opened up a 39-29 lead after a dunk by Aaron Alston. The Golden Eagles settled for a 46-39 halftime lead.

The Golden Eagles led for the entire second half, although the Toros got to within one point at 63-62 following a three-point play by Darnell Martin with 5:20 to go. The Golden Eagles responded by scoring the next nine points to take control. Alston hit a jumper to start the run, Watkins hit a 3-pointer, Thomas hit a jumper after a timeout and Zaid hit a pair of free throws to put the Golden Eagles up, 72-62. Another free throw by Zaid gave the Golden Eagles their biggest lead, 73-62, with two minutes left.

The Toros clawed to within seven points, but Watkins scored on a layup and Joshua Munzon hit a free throw to account for the final margin of victory.

Cal State L.A. will continue conference play on Friday with a road game at Cal State Monterey Bay.