Cal State L.A. Athletics

2009-10 CSULA Record: 11-8. CCAA Record: 7-7

 

Golden Eagles Will Try To Bounce Back On The Road: Cal State L.A.’s men’s basketball team, which lost all three home games last week, will try to rebound this week with a pair of California Collegiate Athletic Association road games at Cal State East Bay and UC San Diego. The Golden Eagles will face conference newcomer Cal State East Bay on Thursday before meeting UC San Diego on Saturday. Since beating Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Jan. 16, the Golden Eagles have lost four of their last five games. Cal State L.A. finished the first half of conference play with a 7-4 record, but has started the second half of conference play with an 0-3 mark. Cal State L.A. has slipped to sixth place in the conference, one-half game behind Chico State and two games behind fourth-place Cal State Dominguez Hills. The top eight teams will advance to the CCAA Championship Tournament. The Golden Eagles will play their next four games on the road at Cal State East Bay, UC San Diego, San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay, before finishing the regular season with four games at home. Cal State L.A. has four players returning from last year’s squad, including senior guard Chris Fields, who earned second-team All-CCAA honors despite missing nearly half of the conference schedule with an injury. Senior guard Dwayne Jones, junior center Trenod Smith and sophomore forward Leland Jones also return.

 

Golden Eagles Are On The Web: Cal State L.A.’s home basketball games are streamed live with video and audio on the Golden Eagles’ athletic website. Log onto www.CSULAathletics.com/FanZone and follow the action. Cal State L.A. alum Michael Nemetz provides the play-by-play for all Golden Eagle home basketball games. Fans can also follow live stats on the same page as well as receive text messages with final scores and stat leaders just minutes after the final buzzer. The next home game for Cal State L.A. is Friday, Feb. 19 against Cal Poly Pomona.

 

Head To Head: Cal State L.A. is 10-11 all-time against UC San Diego and beat the Tritons, 62-53, in the Eagles Nest on Jan. 2. The Golden Eagles held a 32-15 halftime lead and then had to fight off a strong second-half comeback by the Tritons. Chris Fields led three Golden Eagles in double figures with 18 points, while UC San Diego’s Jordan Lawley led all scorers with 24 points. UC San Diego swept the Golden Eagles in 2008-09 and had won three straight games in the series before the loss earlier this year. Cal State L.A. is 4-1 all-time and beat the Pioneers, 72-67, on Jan. 3 in the Eagles Nest in the two program’s first meeting as conference opponents. Fields led the way with 25 points. The two programs hadn’t met since Dec. 28, 1995 when Cal State L.A. defeated Cal State Hayward, 59-51.

 

About Last Week: Cal State L.A. started the week with a poor performance in a 62-45 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles shot a season-low 26.7 percent and were out-rebounded, 39-29, and had to settle for a season split with the Toros. Chris Fields had 10 points and four rebounds, while Carl Hoffman had nine points and eight rebounds. Five Cal State Dominguez Hills players reached double figures in scoring. The Golden Eagles led 13-10 with 9:55 remaining in the first half, but made only one basket for the remainder of the period and trailed 34-19 at halftime. The Toros led by double-digit margins the rest of the way. Things didn’t get much better on Friday when Cal State L.A. lost to Sonoma State, 64-60. Hoffman led four players in double figures with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Fields and Leland Jones had 13 points each and Dwayne Jones had 12 points. Cal State L.A. shot just 38 percent and missed 11 of 13 tries from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles finished the week with a spirited rally that erased a 21-point second-half rally but ended in a disappointing 77-74 overtime loss to Humboldt State. Cal State L.A. shot 51 percent and held a 35-21 rebounding edge, but still lost the game. Hoffman had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Dwayne Jones had 19 points. Chris Robinson had his best game of the season with 16 points and Trevor Hopkins contributed seven points during the Golden Eagles’ big second-half rally. Cal State L.A. trailed, 53-32, with 14:57 to go, but outscored the Lumberjacks, 31-8, to take a 64-61 lead with less than a minute to play after a driving three-point play by Dwayne Jones. The Lumberjacks, though, tied the game twice on a 3-pointer and then again with a basket with 10 seconds remaining. A layup by Robinson gave the Golden Eagles their last lead, 73-72, with 1:13 to go, but Cal State L.A. came up empty after that.

 

Where We Stand: Cal State L.A. is eighth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in scoring with 63.4 points per game and third in scoring defense, allowing 60.2 points per game. The Golden Eagles are No. 1 in the conference, limiting opponents to 37.6 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles also lead the conference in rebounding margin with an advantage of 6.7 rebounds per game. Chris Fields is second in the conference in scoring (15.0 points per game) and third in rebounding (7.0 per game). Dwayne Jones is eighth in the conference in scoring (13.1 per game) and Carl Hoffman is 10th in rebounding (5.6 per game). Leland Jones is third in blocks (1.0 per game), while Hoffman is seventh (0.7 per game).

 

Fields Named CCAA Player Of The Week: Cal State L.A.’s Chris Fields was named the Wilson/California Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 14-20, the conference announced. Fields, a senior guard from Long Beach, helped the Golden Eagles win three non-conference games against Holy Names, Dominican and West Coast Baptist. He averaged 19.3 points and 11.3 rebounds for the week. He had 22 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 77-66 win over Holy Names, followed that up with 20 points and five rebounds in a 72-59 win over Dominican and had 16 points and 11 rebounds against West Coast Baptist.

 

About Last Season: Cal State L.A.’s men’s basketball program struggled down the stretch of an injury-plagued 2008-09 season. The biggest injury sidelined leading scorer Chris Fields for nearly the entire second half of conference play. Cal State L.A. was 2-8 in 10 games without Fields. Even without their top scorer for a big part of the season, the Golden Eagles challenged for a second straight trip to the CCAA Championship Tournament right up to the final game of the season. The Golden Eagles shocked Humboldt State, 76-63, in Arcata in the next-to-last game to remain alive in the chase, but a last-game loss to Sonoma State ended their season. Cal State L.A. finished just one game behind a there-way tie for sixth place. The Golden Eagles also played in some tough luck, dropping four conference games in overtime. Cal State L.A. was coming off a big 2007-08 season which saw the Golden Eagles go 17-11. The 17 wins were the most for the Golden Eagles in a season since the 1999-2000 campaign. Cal State L.A. also finished in a tie for third in the CCAA, which was its best conference finish since 2000. The 11 conference wins were the most since 2001. Cal State L.A. earned the No. 3 seed for the eight-team CCAA Championship Tournament and hosted a first-round tournament game against No. 6 San Francisco State. The Gators held on to edge the Golden Eagles, 60-57, in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. was ninth in the West Region rankings and was included in the regional poll for the first time since 2000.

 

The Thompson Tales: Cal State L.A. Head Coach Stephen Thompson is in his fifth year as the Golden Eagles’ head coach and his eighth year overall with the program. Thompson was an assistant coach for Dave Yanai for three years before becoming head coach prior to the 2005-06 season. He guided the Golden Eagles through an injury-filled 12-15 season in 2008-09. Cal State L.A. was in position for another strong run in the CCAA, but a season-ending injury to leading scorer Chris Fields and nagging injuries to several other key players led to a 2-9 record over the last 11 games. He led the Golden Eagles to a 17-11 overall record and a third-place finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in 2007-08. The Golden Eagles finished the season ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II West Region and made their first appearance in a regional poll since 2000. Thompson was able to lead the Golden Eagles to their best season in eight years despite losing two of the team’s top three scorers – one after just eight games and the other after 14 contests. He led the Golden Eagles to a 10-17 record in 2006-07 that included a 94-85 win over California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Humboldt State and a 70-63 win over Division I bound Cal State Bakersfield. He took over the program in March of 2005 following the retirement of Yanai. The Golden Eagles went from one victory in 2005 to 10 in his first season. Thompson, a Los Angeles native and Crenshaw High School graduate, was a three-year starter at Syracuse from 1986-90, including the 1987 squad that made the NCAA Championship Game against Indiana and the 1989 squad that made the regional final before falling to Illinois. Thompson earned All-America honorable mention honors in both 1989 and 1990 and was the Big East Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1990. He holds the Syracuse record for games played (144) and ranks second in career field goals made (801), fifth in career field goal percentage (.560), sixth in career scoring (1,956) and is tied for 12^th in career steals (184). At the end of his playing career, he was third in Syracuse history in scoring. Professionally, he had stints with the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets and also played in Europe, Japan, the CBA, ABA and the Southern California Pro League. Last month, Thompson had his jersey retired at Crenshaw High School, where he was part of two state championship teams.

 

Look Who’s Back: Cal State L.A. has four players returning from last year’s team, including leading scorer Chris Fields, who is back for his senior season. Fields averaged 16.5 points per game, but suffered a season-ending injury at Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 30 and missed the remainder of the season. Cal State L.A. was 10-7 with Fields in the lineup and 2-8 in games he missed. Despite missing nearly the entire second half of the conference schedule, Fields earned second-team All-CCAA honors. Senior guard Dwayne Jones returns after averaging 9.8 points per season last year. He led the team in 3-pointers. Junior center Trenod Smith is back for a third season, although he has not played yet this season because of injury. Smith appeared in 24 games last season and started 12 times. Sophomore forward Leland Jones is back for his second season after appearing in all 27 games and starting eight times last season.

 

Look Who’s New: Cal State L.A. has a total of 10 newcomers, including six freshmen, a sophomore and three juniors. The three juniors include Duwayne King, a 6-1 guard from Cypress Junior College, Mark Dorsey II, a 6-6 junior forward from Citrus Junior College and Nuno Furtado, a 6-7 junior forward from Central Arizona Junior College. The sophomore is Christopher Robinson, a 6-5 guard who played last year for Metro State. The six freshmen are Trevor Hopkins, a 5-10 guard from Montana State, Kenny Robinson, a 5-11 guard from King Drew High School, Carl Hoffman, a 6-9 center from Loyola High School, Chris Smith, a 6-2 guard from Bellflower High School, Jordan Varnado, a 6-3 guard from King Drew High School and Oscar Ortiz, a 5-11 freshman from College Ready Academy High School.

 

Conference Tourney Is Back For Third Year: The California Collegiate Athletic Association added an eight-team championship tournament in 2007-08 and the tourney will return for a third season in 2009-10. The top eight teams in the conference will compete in a postseason tourney. The first-round games will be held at campus locations, while the semi-final and championship games will be held at Humboldt State. The winner of the tournament will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Last season, Cal State San Bernardino, the No. 3 seed, won the tournament. In the first year of the tourney, UC San Diego, as the No. 7 seed, won the tournament and earned the automatic NCAA Division II playoff berth. Cal State L.A. was the No. 3 seed and was edged by San Francisco State, 60-57, in a first-round game at the Eagles Nest. The semi-finals and finals in the first two years were held in San Bernardino.

 

What The Coaches Predict: Cal Poly Pomona, which rebounded from a losing season in 2007-08 to earn a share of the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship in 2008-09, has been picked to win the CCAA in 2009-10 in voting done by the conference coaches. Humboldt State is picked to finish second, Cal State San Bernardino is third, Cal State Dominguez Hills is fourth, Cal State L.A. is fifth, UC San Diego is sixth, Sonoma State is seventh, Chico State is eighth, San Francisco State is ninth, Cal State Monterey Bay is 10^th, Cal State Stanislaus is 11^th and Cal State East Bay is 12^th. Cal State L.A. was picked to finish fifth last year and wound up ninth.

 

Last Week: DNP

2009-10: Is redshirting.

Season Highs: Has not played

Career Highs: First year with the program

Last Week: Had 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists against Humboldt State on Saturday; went scoreless against Sonoma State on Friday; went scoreless with one rebound against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday.

2009-10: Averaging 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 18 at Dominican (12-16-09); Rebounds – 8 vs. Humboldt State (1-30-10); Assists – 4 at Sonoma State (12-5-09).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had 19 points, three rebounds and two assists against Humboldt State on Saturday; had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists against Sonoma State on Friday; had eight points, two rebounds and three assists against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday.

2009-10: Averaging 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Is second on the team and eighth in the conference in scoring. Leads the team in assists and is second in 3-pointers.

Season Highs: Points – 23 at Chico State (1-22-10); Rebounds – 8 vs. San Francisco State (1-9-10); Assists – 4 at Cal State Stanislaus (1-23-10), vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09), at Dominican (12-16-09).

Career Highs: Points – 25 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-31-08); Rebounds – 8 vs. San Francisco State (1-9-10), at Cal State Monterey Bay (2-14-09); Assists – 4 at Cal State Stanislaus (1-23-10), vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09), at Dominican (12-16-09).

Last Week: Had seven points and one assist against Humboldt State on Saturday; had one assist against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; went scoreless against Sonoma State on Friday.

2009-10: Averaging 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 12 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09); Rebounds – 6 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09); Assists – 4 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

Last Week: Had six points, six rebounds and one assist against Sonoma State on Friday; had three points against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; had two points and one assist against Humboldt State on Saturday.

2009-10: Averaging 1.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 6 vs. Sonoma State (1-29-10); Rebounds – 6 vs. Sonoma State (1-29-10); Assists – 4 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09), at Humboldt State (12-3-09).

Career Highs: First year on the active roster.

 

            Last Week: DNP-CD.

            2009-10: Has not played yet.

            Season Highs: Has not played yet.

            Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

15        MARK DORSEY II (F, Jr., Los Angeles, Citrus Junior College)

Last Week: Had six points and five rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; had two rebounds against Sonoma State on Friday; had one rebound and one assist against Humboldt State on Saturday.

2009-10: Averaging 4.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Is third on the team in rebounding.

Season Highs: Points – 13 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-8-10); Rebounds – 9 vs. Cal State East Bay (1-3-10); Assists – 4 at Dominican (12-16-09).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had 13 points and eight rebounds against Sonoma State on Friday; had 10 points and four rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; had nine points, two rebounds and one assist against Humboldt State on Saturday.

2009-10: Averaging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Is second in the conference in scoring and third in rebounding. Leads the team in scoring, rebounds and 3-pointers and is second in assists.

Season Highs: Points – 25 vs. Cal State East Bay (1-3-10); Rebounds – 18 at Holy Names (12-14-09); Assists – 6 at Cal State San Bernardino (1-15-10).

Career Highs: Points – 27 vs. Texas A&M International (12-17-08); Rebounds – 18 at Holy Names (12-14-09); Assists – 6 at Cal State San Bernardino (1-15-10), vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-9-09).

 

Last Week: Had 13 points and five rebounds against Sonoma State on Friday; had three points, four rebounds and one assist against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; had two points and three rebounds against Humboldt State on Saturday.

2009-10: Averaging 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 17 at Holy Names (12-14-09); Rebounds – 10 at Holy Names (12-14-09); Assists – 5 vs. UC San Diego (1-2-10).

Career Highs: Points – 17 at Holy Names (12-14-09); Rebounds – 10 at Holy Names (12-14-09), at Cal State Monterey Bay (2-14-09); Assists – 5 vs. UC San Diego (1-2-10).

 

Last Week: DNP-CD

2009-10: Has not played yet.

Season Highs: Has not played yet.

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: DNP-CD.

2009-10: Averaging 2.0 points, 0.0 rebounds and 0.0 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 2 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09); Rebounds – 0; Assists -- 0

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds against Humboldt State on Saturday; had 16 points and eight rebounds against Sonoma State on Friday; had nine points and eight rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday.

2009-10: Averaging 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists per game. Is third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding.

Season Highs: Points – 19 vs. Humboldt State (1-30-10); Rebounds – 11 vs. Humboldt State (1-30-10); Assists – 1 vs. Humboldt State (1-30-10), at Cal State Stanislaus (1-23-10), vs. Cal State East Bay (1-3-10, vs. UC San Diego (1-2-10), vs. Grand Canyon (12-22-09), at Holy Names (12-14-09), at Humboldt State (12-3-09).

Career Highs: First year with the program.

Last Week: Had five points against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; had three rebounds and a block against Humboldt State on Saturday; had two rebounds against Sonoma State on Friday.

2009-10: Averaging 4.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 11 at Sonoma State (12-5-09); Rebounds – 9 vs. UC San Diego (1-2-10); Assists –2 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (1-8-10)

Career Highs: First year with the program.

 

Last Week: Had one point and one rebound against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Wednesday; DNP-CD against Sonoma State on Friday and Humboldt State on Saturday.

2009-10: Averaging 0.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.2 assists.

Season Highs: Points – 2 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09), at Holy Names (12-14-09); Rebounds – 5 vs. West Coast Baptist (12-18-09); Assists – 1 at Cal Poly Pomona (1-16-10), vs. UC San Diego (1-2-10).

Career Highs: Points – 12 at Cal State San Bernardino (1-4-08); Rebounds – 9 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-21-09); Assists – 2 at Vanguard (12-13-08).