CARSON, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team took down Cal State Dominguez Hills 95-84 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play Friday at the Toro Dome.
 
CSUSM closed the game by outscoring the Toros 21-10 after a 74-74 stalemate with 6:50 left in the match. The Cougars were accurate as they shot 59.3 percent (35-59) from the floor and 57.9 percent (11-19) from behind the arc.
 
CSUSM improves to 3-2 in the conference and 5-5 overall. CSUH drops to 1-3 in CCAA action and 7-5 overall.
 
The two teams went back-and-forth throughout the contest, as there was a total of 11 ties and five lead changes. With 10 minutes left in the first half and the score even at 20-20, CSUDH went on a 15-4 run, capped off by a layup from Brandon Woods, to lead 35-24 with 6:12 remaining before halftime. The Cougars went on a run of their own and closed out the first stanza outscoring the Toros 20-6 to take a 44-41 advantage after the opening period.
 
CSUSM started the second half by pushing the lead to 12 points, 54-42, on a Declan Daly mid-range jumper.  With 11:32 remaining in the game, CSUDH was able to come back and even the score, 64-64, after a layup from Jonathan Nichols.
 
The two teams deadlocked for the 11th and final time, 74-74, wit 6:50 remaining in the game. The Cougars closed out the match on a 21-10 run, with Darnell Taylor scoring 10 of the points including a dunk with 43 seconds left to give CSUSM its biggest lead, 93-80.
 
The Cougars had four players in double figures with Taylor leading the way with 30 points on 64.7 percent (11-17) shooting. Akachi Okugo scored 19 points aided by five three-pointers. Big men Daly and Taran Brown pitched in 14 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Ivan Dooley paced CSUDH with 18 points. Nichols and Vincent Golson each scored 15.
 
The Cougars will stay on the road and play Stanislaus State on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.