Toros Fail to Clinch Berth in Playoffs : Basketball: Eighteen turnovers hurt Dominguez Hills in 57-51 loss to Cal State L.A.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team will have to wait another game to secure a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. postseason tournament after losing a road game to Cal State L.A., 57-51, Thursday night.

The Toros (15-8, 6-6 in conference) can clinch their third berth in the five seasons the four-team CCAA tournament with a victory at Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday.

The Toros entered the game in third place, a game ahead of Cal State San Bernardino (12-10, 5-6), which plays at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo tonight.

Cal State L.A., which entered the game in a fifth-place tie with Pomona, snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 13-9 and 5-7 to remain in the hunt for a spot in the tournament.

“They had their backs to the wall and they played with a lot of emotion,” Yanai said. “We were flat. You have to give them credit.”

Cal Poly Pomona (12-12, 5-7) beat Chapman, 76-70, Thursday night.

Five days earlier, the Toros had taken undefeated and conference-leading Cal State Bakersfield, the nation’s top-ranked team in NCAA Division II, to the wire before losing by two points.

The Toros outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 32-21, but committed 18 turnovers.

“This loss was much harder to take,” Yanai said. “It’s one thing to play well and lose. It’s another thing when you don’t play well.”

Tony McGee made a turnaround jump shot to give Cal State L.A. a 51-49 lead with one minute 55 seconds to play. The Toros had an opportunity to tie the score, but Derek Knowles came up with a steal with 54 seconds to play.

McGee, a 6-8 senior center who made two free throws in the final minute to lift the Golden Eagles to a 65-62 victory in the teams’ first meeting, increased Cal State L.A.’s lead to 53-49 with 29 seconds left.

Raymond Bennett brought the Toros to 53-51 on a driving layup with 19 seconds left, but Marcus Williams and Derek Knowles made two free throws each to secure the victory.

McGee, who also had three steals, and Knowles scored 15 points each for Cal State L.A., which made 14 of 15 free throws in the second half.

Dominguez Hills had broken a 28-28 halftime tie to take a 39-34 lead on a basket by Joe Bertrand with 12:21 left. The Golden Eagles, however, rallied to tie the score, 43-43, on a three-point basket by Greene with 7:15 left.

“They came out cocky like they were going to kick our butts,” Cal State L.A. forward Mark Greene said. “As a team we were slumping, but this was one game we couldn’t lose. We weren’t intimidated. They were the ones who came out tentative.”

Chris Thompson was the only Dominguez Hills player in double figures with a game-high 16 points. Vince Washington and Bertrand scored eight each.

Thompson, who had 14 points in the first half, converted a three-point play and made a free throw to give Dominguez Hills a 28-25 lead with four seconds left in the first half. Cal State L.A. tied the score on a half-court shot at the buzzer by Aaron Latimore.