Dominguez Hills Gets It Right in 2nd Half : Toros Defeat Olivet Nazarene, 89-67, for Their Fourth Straight Win

On paper, Cal State Dominguez Hills’ 89-67 victory Wednesday afternoon over Olivet Nazarene would appear to be a routine runaway.

After all, the Toros won their fourth straight game to improve their record to 6-4, and scored a season-high point total.

But on the verge of embarking on a challenging road trip to Grand Canyon College and Southern Utah State, Coach Dave Yanai looked at the scoreboard and saw what could have been.

Yanai was irritated that his Toros let much of a big first-half lead dissolve to a 46-40 advantage at intermission.

“I felt we broke down throughout the first 20 minutes,” Yanai said. “You have to be patient defensively and allow them to make a mistake or take a bad shot. The second half we corrected that and played a little more solid.

“Offensively, in the second half the players recognized what we could get off them. The first half they were trying to get things too early. The second half we played 20 minutes rather than three or four.”

Given the results, that may be nit-picking. The Toros owned a 16-4 lead 5 1/2 minutes into the game, and it took Olivet, an NAIA school out of Kankakee, Ill., nearly four minutes to get off a good shot.

The Toros maintained double-figure leads throughout the half but allowed Olivet to close the gap in the final minute. Olivet’s Eric Dittrich hit a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to six.

Olivet pulled to within four by scoring the first basket of the second half, but Dominguez Hills forward Roger Coleman then scored five straight points and guard Bryan Dell’Amico hit his only three-pointer of the game and the lead quickly ballooned to 54-42.

The Toros then went on a 12-4 outburst sparked by Coleman and Dell’Amico, taking a 66-46 lead when Barry Johnson scored in the lane with 12:10 left.

The lead reached 26 points at 82-56, and a free throw by Dell’Amico with 1:40 left gave the Toros an 85-65 lead and a season high in points. The 100-point mark was in sight, but their usually reliable three-point shooters, Dell’Amico and Leonard Eaton, managed only 2 for 11 from long range.

It didn’t really matter. The Toros shot 56% from the floor, were 19 of 23 from the foul line and controlled the boards, grabbing 42 rebounds to Olivet’s 28. Olivet shot only 34% in the second half.

Center Anthony Blackmon played a steady game for the Toros and finished with game highs of 16 points and eight rebounds. Coleman, Yanai’s candidate for unsung hero of the game, had 15 points and five rebounds, while shooting 6 for 8 and blocking four shots. Dell’Amico, Robert Barksdale and Derrick Clark all contributed 12 points apiece from the back court.

“I think we were a bit more physical,” Yanai said.

Centers Dave DeFries and Brent Warren led Olivet with 12 points each. The Tigers are now 8-4.

For Yanai, it’s nice to be winning but there’s still work to be done. “I’m pleased in most respects,” he said. “But there’s still a lot of work to do if we’re gonna contend for a post-season spot in our conference tournament.”

Then, perhaps in the spirit of the holiday, he charitably acknowledged: “The guys have played pretty well.”

No need to be a Scrooge when you’re on a roll.