Bakersfield Edges Toros on a Clutch Basket, 52-50

The scouting report on Wade Green is that the speedy Cal State Bakersfield guard always dribbles with his right hand in the clutch.

Clutch time for Green came with five seconds remaining Thursday night at Cal State Dominguez Hills and the 5-foot-10 junior got the most out of his favorite hand when he passed two Toro defenders and then hooked a wild, spiraling lay-in off the glass and past the lip of the rim to give the visiting Roadrunners a stunning 52-50 come-from-behind victory before 635 spectators.

The loss dropped Dominguez Hills into second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and all but erased any chance of the Toros hosting the conference postseason tournament. It almost assuredly will be hosted by UC Riverside, an 84-79 winner over Cal State Los Angeles, at a site to be determined.

And the Toros’ opponent in that playoff, scheduled to begin March 3: Bakersfield.

“We’re looking forward to the rematch,” said Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai.

There might have been no need for a rubber game if Dominguez Hills hadn’t gone silent in the final 4:21 of the game when Robert Barksdale fed Derrick Clark for the Toros’s last score and a 50-41 lead.

Both Toro guards, Clark and Barksdale, had been briefed on Green’s strength with his right hand. But neither could get over in time to stop him when he made the game-winning shot.

“As soon as I see the ball go to Green, I’m yelling for them to get to the right side,” Yanai said.

Ironically, the final shot was not supposed to come down to Green, the junior guard from Oklahoma said.

“It just kind of happened,” he said of the play, which saw him drive around Clark to the baseline and then throw up the weird shot.

Nevertheless, the basket may have even further implications when Dominguez Hills gets into postseason play. Before Thursday’s loss, the second consecutive for the Toros, it was thought that if the conference race ended in a tie and Riverside and Dominguez Hills met in the final of the postseason tournament, both would be honored with Division II playoff spots, regardless of who won. But now it appears the Toros may have to win every game from here on out.

And Bakersfield, defeated by Dominguez Hills in their first meeting, 68-56, is hot. The Roadrunners have won six straight.

The teams combined to commit 12 turnovers in the first 11 minutes of the game. Dominguez Hills committed seven while shooting 6 of 17 from the floor in that span.