SAN MARCOS, Calif. – An overtime thriller at The Sports Center saw the Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (10-7, 9-3 CCAA) earn its fourth consecutive win as it defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-10, 4-8 CCAA) by a score of 85-78 on Saturday.
TOP PERFORMERS
Quinn Denker – 27 points | 5 assists | 2 rebounds
Joel Mensah – 18 points | 12 rebounds | 2 blocked shots
Greg Milton III – 16 points | 4 rebounds | 2 assists | 2 rebounds
Jayce McCain – 15 points | 5 assists | 2 steals
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied at 10 with 12:39 remaining in the first half, Dominguez Hills went on an 11-2 run and took a 21-12 lead after Dent-Smith made the second of two free throws with 9:08 to play in the first period.
A DJ Guest jumper gave the Toros their biggest lead of the first half at 33-22 with 2:08 remaining.
The Cougars responded with a 7-2 run to cut the CSUDH lead to 35-29 at the halftime break.
CSUSM shot 43.3% (13-fo-30) in the first half while CSUDH came in at 44.4% (12-of-27).
A pair of Milton made free throws closed the gap to 46-44 with 12 minutes remaining in the second half.
A reverse layup by Donovan Watkins evened the game at 52-all at the 8:37 mark.
Denker scored 10 consecutive points for CSUSM to give the Cougars a 62-56 lead with five minutes remaining in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by CSUDH’s Andre Ball and Cameron Barry evened the game at 62-all with 3:25 on the clock.
Two made free throws by David Cheatom gave CSUDH back the lead at 64-62 with 2:22 remaining.
Back-to-back 3-pointers in front of the CSUSM bench by Denker put the Cougars back on top at 68-67 with 37 seconds on the clock.
Guest made the backend of his free throws to even the game at 68-all with 19 seconds.
A missed 3-pointer by Denker with five ticks remaining sent the game to overtime.
CSUSM opened the extra period with layups by Milton and Mensah to make it 72-68.
The Toros tied the game once again at 78 with a 3-pointer by Guest with 2:28 to go in the extra period.
The Cougars ended overtime with eight unanswered points to earn the 85-78 win.
FAST BREAKS
The Cougars concluded the game shooting 52.2% (35-of-67) while the Toros clocked in at 49.1% (27-of-55).
This was CSUSM’s 11th overtime win in program history
The Cougars and Toros previously went to extra time in The Sports Center on Feb. 15, 2020, and saw Dominguez Hills come away with a 107-105 double overtime win.
Denker’s 27 points were a career high and the second most by a CSUSM player this season.
Milton played all 45 minutes of the contest.
The Cougars led for just 10:49 of the contest while the Toros had it for 27:07.
CSUSM capitalized on CSUDH’s 17 turnovers by scoring 20 points.
CSUSM’s 85 points were its second-most in a game this season.
The Cougars’ four blocked shots tied their season high.
This is CSUSM’s second four-game winning streak of the season.
The Cougars now own the all-time series lead at 6-5 and are 4-3 against the Toros at home.
The Cougars now have a two-game cushion for second place in the CCAA standings.
Listen to Head Coach B.J. Foster talk about today’s 85-78 overtime win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/thqeBvvQBw
– CSUSM Men’s Basketball (@CSUSM_MBB) January 22, 2023
UP NEXT
The Cougars will play the third game of its four-game homestand when it faces fifth-place Cal Poly Pomona (9-6, 6-5 CCAA) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in The Sports Center.
