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.