CARSON -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team staged a miraculous rally Saturday in the Torodome to throw a major scare into a Cal State Dominguez Hills team that thought it had the game already won early in the second half.
The Toros certainly couldn't be blamed for that since they held a commanding 75-40 lead with 15 minutes left to play. The Golden Eagles, though, started sending wave after wave of hustling, competing players and sliced the lead down to just six points before ultimately falling, 105-98, in an exciting California Collegiate Athletic Association game in Carson. Cal State LA (9-13, 5-12 CCAA) outscored Cal State Dominguez Hills, 65-45, in the second half to make things definitely entertaining at the end.
Elliott Smith led five Golden Eagles in double figures with 19 points, while
Kenneth Cyprian had 16 points.
Jalyn Pennie and
Khalil Williams had 13 points each and
Garrett Carter had 12 points.
Jonathan Nichols had a game-high 36 points, 27 of them in the first half. The two players most responsible for keeping the Golden Eagles at bay in the second half were Malcolm Johnson, who was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line and finished with 10 points and Matt Hayes, who hit some big momentum-stopping 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 14 points.
Devin Means had nine points and six assists for the Golden Eagles.
Cal State LA played at a frantic pace in the second half that finally wore down the Toros, who were on fire in the opening half while building a 60-33 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles substituted five players at a time every 90 seconds or so and the high-energy play got them back in a game that seemed to be over when the Toros built a 75-40 lead.
A steal and dunk by Pennie got the Golden Eagles within 87-72 with 7:42 to go and capped a 32-12 run over an eight-minute period. A steal by Means led to a layup by Williams that made it 96-87 with 3:30 remaining and the Golden Eagles then got a stop, but missed three shots on the next possession. A 3-pointer by Williams made it 98-90 with 2:10 remaining and Cyprian made five free throws in the final minute to cut the margin to 104-98.
Cal State LA will return to action on Friday with a road game at Cal State East Bay.
