Box Score: (Click here)
SAN BERNARDINO -- An inspired Coyotes team showed Friday night that they can be part of the discussion on the top teams in the CCAA.
You could pick any sort of top performances in the 67-47 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. But coach
Jeff Oliver might be most proud of holding a potent Toros team to less than 50 points -- an automatic win during the Oliver era.
Senior
Tre' Brewer and junior
Kwame Alexander each scored 16 points, and junior
Nate Roth added 12 and senior
D.J. Shumpert blocked seven shots -- six in the first half -- as the Coyotes earned the series sweep over the Toros (11-6, 10-5).
The victory puts CSUSB into a five-way tie in the league at 10-5 (11-7 overall).
The Coyotes held the lead throughout most of the game with just one lead change as they were defensive kings. They held the Toros to just 13 field goals, gave up a season-best low 28.3-percent field goasl (13-of-46) and left CSUDH befuddled.
Brewer was 8-of-19 from the floor and Alexander threw down two slam dunks that will be talked about for a while inside and outside of Coussoulis. In the first half, he caught an alley-oop dunk on a feed from Brewer that collapsed the basket standard.
Then in the second half, Brewer fed a trailing Alexander, who brought down a windmill jam that went straight down the chute.
CSUSB came out ready to play and were determined to snap a two-game home losing streak -- a first during Oliver's 10 years at the helm. The only time it trailed was 2-0 and five ties occurred -- the last at 21-21 with 2:45 remaining in the half.
The Coyotes held the Toros to without a field over a 12 1/2-minute stretch in the first half. Then in the second half, CSUSB didn't give up its first field goal until the 13:55 mark.
That effort allowed the Coyotes to improve to 17-0 all-time under Oliver when they give up less than 50 points.
Roth added five assists and grabbed seven rebounds to go with his 12 points. Brewer had four assists as did junior
Hakeem Washington, who had six points.
Shumpert's seven blocks are the third most in school history and his 28 is tied for 9th on the single-season charts.
George McGrew led the Toros with 15 points.