CARSON, Calif. – The California State University San Bernardino men's basketball team forced overtime and had a final look at the buzzer, but fell 90–89 to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday afternoon at the Torodome.
With the loss, the Coyotes move to 14-15 overall and 11-11 in CCAA play. Due to a tiebreaker with Cal State San Marcos, the Coyotes are eliminated from CCAA Tournament contention.
CSUSB kept pace early behind sophomore guard Aidan Fowler (San Clemente, Calif.), who scored 12 of the Coyotes' first 21 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Freshman guard Xavier Clinton (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) added seven first-half points, while redshirt senior guard Gavin Davis (Carson, Calif.) controlled the glass with six rebounds before the break.
Despite shooting 40 percent from three in the first half, the Coyotes trailed 52-46 at intermission as the Toros connected on 62.5 percent of their field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
CSUSB chipped away in the second half. Fowler caught fire again midway through the period, knocking down a step-back three and multiple pull-up jumpers to give the Coyotes their first lead since the opening minutes. He finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
With 3.3 seconds remaining in the second half and trailing by three, Fowler buried a deep pull-up three to tie the game at 81-81 and force overtime.
In the extra period, Cal State Dominguez Hills built a seven-point cushion with just over two minutes remaining. The Coyotes responded as Clinton converted inside and Davis drilled a clutch three with 30 seconds left to cut the deficit to two. Clinton hit a three in the waning seconds, but the Coyotes ran out of time and saw their season come to a close.
Clinton delivered an all-around performance with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, while Davis added 14 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Freshman guard Zion Paleo (Diamond Bar, Calif.) contributed eight points and six assists, including the feed to Fowler for a game-tying three in the closing seconds of regulation.
Redshirt senior Amound Anderson II (Gardena, Calif.) added seven points off the bench, and redshirt senior forward Walter Hamilton (Lake Center, Miss.) provided 12 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Senior forward Court Franklin (Santa Ana, Calif.) chipped in four points and six rebounds.
CSUSB shot 43.3 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw line, but was outscored 36-20 in the paint and allowed 41 bench points.
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