TURLOCK — If
Kyle Gouveia's final two weekends of this season is any indication of how much he's improved and how he could be a force next year, Warrior Nation will have something special to look forward to.
Gouveia saved his best game for last as the sophomore center helped the Warriors send off senior
Alek Carlson with a victory as they come-from-behind to beat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 80-75, Saturday night.
Gouveia finished with a career-high 25 points — 19 came in the first half — and made 75 percent of his shot (9-for-12) to lead the Warriors. He also grabbed 11 rebounds for his second double-double in as many Saturdays. Thursday night at L.A., he scored 20 points to follow his 21-point output last Saturday in the Warriors' upset win over Cal Poly Pomona. In the last three games, he scored 66 points on 24-for-36 (.667) shooting with 27 rebounds.
The Warriors finished the 2015-16 season on a roll, snapping an 11-game losing streak by winning three of four games to finish 8-17 overall and 7-13 in the CCAA.
Also chipping in on Saturday were
Christian Bayne with 15 points and
Vondel Faniel scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds. Carlson wrapped up his career in front of his hometown fans and family with 12 points.
It was Carlson's three-pointer, as the Warriors trailed 73-60 with 6:44 to play, that sparked the final push — and ultimately the comeback win. Stanislaus rolled off to a 20-2 run to close out the game. Justin Sadler's layup at 6:20 remaining turned out to be the Toros' final points as they never scored again. Stan State finished the game with 17 unanswered points.
During that 20-2 Stan State run, CSUDH was 1-for-10 (0-for-5 from the arch) while Stanislaus made 5 of 11 shots plus 9 of 11 free throws to take-over the game.
Five players (Ivan Dooley led with 17 points) were in double digits scoring for Dominguez Hills (10-18, 4-16 CCAA).