The Cal State San Marcos Cougars fall short to the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros, 69-63, on Feb. 16.

The Toros took the lead early in the first quarter, 12-4, at 16:22. The Cougars began to catch up after a steal by senior guard J.R. Williams and a jumper by freshman guard, Bryce Sloan (12-10). However, a three-pointer by Toro guard, Colten Kresl, allowed them to keep their lead(18-16).

CSUSM defense picked up when junior guard, Alec Frank, got a steal and a layup at 5:31 to tie the game 18-18. The Toros responded with a layup in the paint to make it 29-25 with 2:08 left to play. CSUSM Junior forward, Darae Elliott scored a layup and got fouled, resulting in a three-point play to cut the Toro lead to 31-30 at the half.

The Toros led at the beginning of the second half until Williams hit a jumper to tie the score 45-45. CSUDH responded with a made three at 6:44 to reclaim the lead 59-49. The Cougars were down by three when Elliott hit a jump shot to cut the Toro lead to 61-58. A CSUDH foul by senior forward, Mikey Hatfield, put Frank on the line at the 0:24 mark. Frank made the first free throw and missed the second to make the score 66-63. Sloan hit a three to tie the game 66-66 with 20 seconds left to play. CSUDH freshman guard, Alex Garcia, hit a game winning three in the final seconds of the game.

The Toros scored 10-of-25 three-pointers and 9-of-13 free throws. While the Cougars scored 3-of-11 three-pointers and 7-of-12 free throws.

Fuller led CSUSM with 18 points and 8 rebounds and Elliott with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

The Cougars dropped to 6-18 overall and 3-15 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. The Toros improve to 12-11 overall and 10-8 in CCAA.

CSUSM will play its final game of the season at home against Cal State Monterey Bay on March 2 at 3 p.m.