Toros Stay in Playoff Hunt, Beat Mustangs

There’s a funny thing about the Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball team. Just when it seems safe to say that the Toros are out of the race for a playoff berth in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., the team finds a way to roar back into contention for that fourth and final post season spot.

Thursday night, Dominguez Hills did its umpteenth turnaround of the season with a 52-49 upset win over front-running Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The victory snapped Cal Poly’s seven-game winning streak and dropped the Mustangs into a tie for the conference lead at 7-2 with Cal State Bakersfield, which beat Chapman College, 66-64.

Chapman and Dominguez Hills are tied for fifth, two games back of Cal State Northridge, which beat Cal Poly Pomona, 76-67, and the Toros play all but Chapman once more.

So, count the Toros down but not out of the race yet. The school, which hosts Bakersfield on Saturday night, upped its home record to 8-3, while Cal Poly, like most teams in this conference, is struggling on the road with a 4-6 record away from home.

Had it not been for a 59-46 loss on Tuesday night to visiting Chapman, Dominguez Hills might be in the driver’s seat for that fourth playoff spot. But for now, the Toros, who began conference play at 0-4, then won three straight, have 48 hours to be content with a 4-5 league record.

“We played well as a team. That’s how we have to play if we are to have a chance to make the playoffs,” said Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai. “Tuesday I thought if we had a good second half scoring points, we’d be 2-0 this week.”

Against Chapman, Dominguez Hills held a 22-21 half-time lead, then was outscored 38-24 in the second half. Thursday night against San Luis Obispo, the Toros opened the second half by scoring the first basket to increase their lead to 11 points, then held on for their 10th win in 21 tries this year.

Defense played a large role in the victory. Led by senior guard Barry Johnson, senior forward Roger Coleman and junior guard Derrick Clark, the Toros held San Luis Obispo to only eight points and two field goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half.