Toros Defeat Northridge, but Won’t Go to Tourney

Call it a bittersweet win. That what’s Cal State Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai said about his team’s 60-57 victory on Saturday night at Cal State Northridge.

That’s because the fate of the Toros and their chances to get into the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. post-season tournament didn’t really hinge on how they handled the Matadors, but how Chapman College played at Cal State Los Angeles.

And since CSLA hadn’t won a CCAA game all year, Yanai didn’t hold out much hope.

When the public address announcer gave the score from Los Angeles, which showed Chapman had won, 78-67, all the Toros could do was savor their seventh conference win in 10 tries.

“I hoped Chapman might slip up,” said Yanai, who brought his Toros back from an 0-4 start.

“All year long, I thought we were a couple or three plays away from a few wins, games we lost by three points.

“That was the difference between us being the fifth-place team and getting into the tournament.”

Actually, Dominguez Hills finished in a fourth-place tie with Northridge and Chapman.

One of those three-point losses was a critical, 64-61, loss to UC Riverside 10 days ago. Had Toro center Anthony Blackmon connected on his three-point try, which went off the lip of the rim with 5 seconds left, then Dominguez Hills would be on its way to Bakersfield next week in the four-team CCAA tournament.,

As it turned out, Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Northridge will meet next Friday at Bakersfield College.

Dominguez Hills matched up well with Northridge. In an earlier meeting, the Toros had beaten the Matadors, 65-56. And with Northridge’s second leading scorer and leading rebounder, Todd Boswer out for the year with an injured foot, it figured that Dominguez Hills had a chance to live up to its part.

In finishing their season at 12-13, the Toros survived in a game that for a while no one seemed to want. Indeed, the way the first half was played, it was a wonder that the game was ever finished.

Despite holding a seven-point lead early in the game, Dominguez Hills committed nine turnovers and trailed, 28-24.

The first half was a tangle of arms and legs and full of fouls. Just about anytime a hand went up, a whistle went off. That trend continued in the second period. In all, 48 fouls were called against both teams.

Dominguez Hills took the lead for good, 38-37, on a lay-in by senior center Roger Coleman off an assist by guard Derrick Clark. Coleman, playing his final game for Dominguez Hills, fouled out with 6:37 to go, leaving the Toros with a big defensive gap to fill.

But by that time the Toros had gained a six-point margin and basket by freshman guard Robert Barksdale a half-minute later made it 55-47.,

Then Dominguez Hills went cold. Barksdale missed with 4:40 to go and Pat Bolden hit both ends of a one and one to cut the lead to four, 55-51.

Senior guard Barry Johnson missed a 6-foot shot with 3:45 to go, and following a Northridge miss, Barksdale missed a 10-foot shot.,

Northridge called time out with 3:08 to go and came back on the floor with a trap defense, Bolden and Barksdale traded baskets, then Bolden hit both ends of a two-shot foul, 57-55.

That’s when Barksdale inadvertently changed the tempo of the game.

With 1:17 to go, he grabbed a loose ball and drove the length of the court. As he went up for the lay-in, he was hammered by Alan Fraser, Bowser’s replacement. Both men hit the floor in a tangle of arms, legs and blood. Barksdale sustained what Yanai termed “a bad gash” above his right eye and had to be escorted from the court.

Freshman guard Bryan Dell’Amico took his place and hit the back end of his two-shot foul.,

From that point on Dominguez Hills seemed inspired and a pair of wild three-point shots by Northridge didn’t draw iron.

“These guys matured and improved,” said Yanai. “I wish we could start our conference season now.”