Men’s basketball earns win against Cal State Dominguez Hills

 CSUSM men’s basketball earned a landslide victory against Cal State Dominguez Hills at The Sports Center on Dec.1. The Cougars won the game with an impressive 79-41 score against the Torros.

Dominguez Hills quickly took an early 2-0 lead in the first minutes of the game, but CSUSM was able to take back control of the scoreboard by scoring 19 points within the first 20 minutes of the game. 

The Cougars ended the first half with an 18-point lead over Dominguez Hills. Twelve out of 25 CSUSM rebounds came off the offensive boards in the first half. 

During the second half, the Cougars could sustain their lead over Cal State Dominguez Hills, gaining a 42-22 scoring margin. After a three-pointer by Chase Bowsher, the Cougars were able to take a 43-point lead—the largest lead of the game—brought men’s basketball up 79-36 with less than five minutes of game time left.

In a post-game interview, head coach BJ Foster praises the men’s basketball team and breaks down their strategy that helped gain victory over Dominguez Hills. 

“Tonight, we did a great job at the offensive boards,” said Foster, “we did a very good job at crashing the board.” 

“I’m more pleased for another game that we followed the game plan. We were right on top of where we wanted to be,” said Foster.

With this victory over Dominguez Hills, men’s basketball stands 6-0, continuing their best start as an NCAA member. The 38-point margin of victory tied CSUSM’s record for the largest-ever win against an NCAA Division II institution. This game also marks CSUSM’s first victory as a ranked team in Division II. 

The Cougars also join Cal State Chico as the only team in the CCAA conference without a loss this season. 

Women’s basketball dominates Dominguez Hills 

Women’s basketball gained another victory at the Sports Center on Dec.1 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Cougars ended the game with a 71-65 win over the Torros.

The Cougars had a rough start, trailing behind Dominguez Hills 11-7 until the first media timeout. CSUSM quickly recovered and snatched a 12-11 lead from the Torros after going on a 5-0 run. 

Redshirt junior Sydney Buckley scored a three-pointer from the corner with 23 seconds left on the clock for the first quarter, giving CSUSM an 18-15 lead over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Fellow redshirt junior Dynnah Buckner sneaks in a layout in the final seconds of the first quarter, increasing the lead to 18-17 following the first ten minutes.

During the second quarter, redshirt senior Akayla Hackson delivered a three-pointer which catalyzed an 11- run to increase the lead to 29-23. The Cougars close out the first half with a 37-31 lead over Dominguez Hills.

CSUSM didn’t let their lead go away during the second half. Buckner scored 10 of her 16 points in the third quarter, helping sustain the lead over the Torros. The Cougars faced a four-minute drought during the fourth quarter but quickly recovered and improved their lead to 66-59, with a little over two minutes remaining in the half.

CSUSM was able to close out the game with the 71-65 victory against Dominguez Hills.

The victory over Dominguez Hills marks head coach Renee Jimenez’s 200th win in her career as a basketball coach. The win also extends CSUSM’s CCAA regular-season win streak to 11 wins; the streak dates back to the 2019-20 season, where they won a share of the CCAA Regular-Season Title.