Old Victim Returns, Defeats the Toros

High-scoring guard Maurice Pullum of UC Riverside has been held scoreless only once in his collegiate playing career, and the fact that it happened in a game with Cal State Dominguez Hills last season may have come back to haunt the Toros.

Pullum, a senior out of Chicago, gained revenge Thursday night, scoring 25 points, including two free throws with five seconds remaining, that enabled Riverside to defeat Dominguez Hills, 59-58, in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. game before 620 spectators in the Toro gym.

Pullum scored 13 of the Highlanders’ first 23 points and had four three-point field goals in the first 15 minutes.

“No doubt about it,” said Riverside Coach John Masi, “he kept us in the game in the first half.”

Dominguez Hills held Pullum scoreless last season at Riverside, a game still won by the Highlanders, 64-61. Thursday night he said he didn’t think about last season’s game.

“I figured the only person who was going to stop me was myself,” he said. “I just wanted to take my time and play my game.”

Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai concurred.

“If Pullum was not hot, we have a pretty big lead on them,” he said.

Leads, and holding them, have been a problem for Dominguez Hills this year, and Thursday night was no exception. The Toros led by 10 points, 43-33, with 14:40 to go, then watched as Riverside outscored them in the next eight minutes to take a 50-45 lead.

Yanai discounted the fact that Dominguez Hills lost another lead in a game: “The important thing for you to remember is that they got up by five points and we caught them. We did not fold.”

Pullum’s three-point field goal with 3:59 to go gave Riverside the lead, 55-52, and a minute and 15 seconds later his basket made it 57-52.

“I thought about (reminding) him (about last year’s game),” said Masi. “But I didn’t. When he made his first shot (a three-pointer) I sat down and said, ‘Well, that’s three more than he had against them last time.’ ”

The loss dropped Dominguez Hills (9-6) to 1-1 in CCAA play. Riverside (13-2) has won nine straight and is 2-0.

Riverside came into the game averaging 96 points a game, but it took the Highlanders nearly seven minutes to grab a 13-7 advantage. Their previous low point total this year was 80 points.

Back came the Toros. Back-to-back three-point field goals by Brian Johnson spurred an 18-3 run, which gave Dominguez Hills a 25-16 lead with 8:45 left in the first half.

But then it was time for the high-powered Highlanders to get their offense in gear.

Pullum’s fourth three-point field goal of the night got Riverside started with 5:47 left in the half. Less than three minutes later, a basket by Jimmy Shorters capped a 12-4 run by the Highlanders that brought them within a point, 29-28.

Cal State Women 66, Riverside 60--The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s basketball team blew a 15-point lead, then bounced back in overtime to defeat visiting UC Riverside, 66-60, Thursday night.

Brigette Frazier led the Lady Toros with 13 points, including three clutch free throws in overtime. Dominguez Hills moved to 1-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play and 5-8 overall.