Dominguez Hills Sweeps Chapman, Climbs to 4th

Most of the season Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball Coach Dave Yanai has stood fast behind his prediction that the Toros would be “in the hunt” for a post-season berth in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

But after Dominguez Hills (8-13) opened CCAA play with a 1-4 record, even the veteran of 13 seasons had his doubts.

No one is doubting the team now, however, after the Toros swept a home-and-home series with Chapman College over the weekend, climbing into fourth place, a goal Yanai set for his freshman-laden team team when the year began.

Victors 73-63 on Friday night and 56-47 on Saturday night, the Toros (4-4 in the conference) are now firmly in control of their own destiny in the fight for one of the top four spots in the CCAA. Four victories in their last eight games should guarantee no worse than the last of four playoff spots.

“There were times that I questioned my own prediction,” Yanai said. “I kept wondering if it would come back to haunt me.”’

It appears it won’t if the Toros play the second round of their conference schedule as they did most of the first. They held halftime leads five times in the first round, winning all but one of those games, something they did just once in eight preseason games.

“I am very confident,” said Yanai. “Every team in this conference knows we will be in the hunt.”

In both games this weekend, the Toros used halftime leads to pull away to double-digit leads against the Panthers. Freshman forward Vincent Washington chipped in 12 points Friday and a career-best 16 Saturday to lead the Toros.

In the women’s game, the Lady Toros (9-12, 1-6) ran their losing streak to five CCAA games with a pair of losses to Chapman, 79-48 on Friday and 73-58 on Saturday.