Box Score
ONTARIO — Behind a huge second half by
Rob Walters, the Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball team made history by knocking off Cal State L.A., 58-52, in the first game of the CCAA Basketball Championships Thursday afternoon.
Inside the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, the Warriors survived a sluggish first half and used a strong second half to record the program's first conference tournament victory. Cal State Stanislaus, which has won five straight games, improves to a program-best 19-8 overall record.
The Warriors, who have made the CCAA tournament three out of the last four seasons, advance to face top-seeded Cal State San Bernardino on Friday. Tipoff is again at 12:05 p.m.
Walters was the only player with a double-double in the game as he scored 17 points with 14 rebounds. He did most of the damage on both sides of the ball in the second half.
"I just try to come up and provide that emotional spark for our team, both on offense and defense," Walters said in the postgame radio interview. "I try to take my job very serious (to help the team win)."
The last time the Warriors faced Cal State San Bernardino, at Fitzpatrick Arena, they lost by just two points with a chance to win at the buzzer. But that game, on Feb. 7, was played without Walters who was out with a concussion.
On Thursday afternoon, the Warriors got out to a slow start in the first half as they battled Cal State L.A. to a 24-21 halftime score in favor of the Golden Eagles.
But Walters took charge in the second half — especially on the free throw line. Walters ended up scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half and took to the hoop to create free throw opportunities. The junior forward was a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity line.
"(Coach told us) to play our game," Walters said. "We weren't playing our game in first half. We needed to come out and have fun (and) enjoy ourselves in the second half."
It was Walters' tip-in at 14:27 that gave Stanislaus a 36-35 lead they never gave up. That bucket started a 14-2 run capped by a pair of
Marcus Bell free throws to make it 48-37 Stanislaus with 7:36 to play.
Cal State L.A. did cut it down to a five-point game with 2:23 to go, but the Warriors converted on the free throw line down the stretch — something they were not able to do against the Golden Eagles in L.A. earlier in the season — to seal the win.
Bell finished with 11 points and nine rebounds while both
Shey Mataele and
Chris Read also each scored 11 points with all of the team's scoring came from the starting five.
Cal State L.A. (15-12) was led by Duce Zaid with 21 points as the Warriors held Golden Eagles leading scorer and All-CCAA player Quinton Watkins to seven points (3-for-12).
