CARSON, Calif. -- A slow start Saturday evening doomed the Humboldt State men's basketball team as it fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills 79-76 in the Toro Dome.
 
Saturday's result puts the Lumberjacks at 15-7 overall and 9-7 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. The Toros improve to 6-16 overall and 2-14 in conference.

"It was a classic Cal State Dominguez Hills-Humboldt State matchup," said Head Coach Steve Kinder. "Credit Cal State Dominguez Hills for getting an early jump on us out of the gate. They just came off a loss, but they were fired up and ready for us. We battled back and withstood runs other times in the game, but we did not have enough fuel in the tank tonight."
 
The Jacks rallied from a 39-32 halftime deficit and led 75-74 after a pair of Malik Morgan free throw baskets with a minute left on the clock. Morgan ended the game a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills closed out the game with success at the free throw line. The Toros were 5-for-5 from the line in the game's final minute.
 
Justin Sadler led the Toros with 15 points in the first half. Cal State Dominguez Hills stormed out to a 13-point lead, 30-17, with 5:18 to go before intermission.
 
HSU started the game slowly, but picked up momentum before the break. The Jacks went on a 13-3 run over the last 3:48 and cut the Toro edge to seven, 39-32, before heading into the locker room.
 
Thomas Witzel was the Jacks' leading scorer in the first half with 12 points, three points shy of his single-game high. He was 5-for-7 shooting and connected on a pair of 3-point buckets.
 
Witzel matched his season-high scoring total Saturday with 15 points, but he was not the only HSU player to reach double digits. Austin Bryan led the Jacks with 17 points, Morgan scored 15 points and Allan Guei chipped in 14 points.
 
The Toros dominated the boards and grabbed 43 rebounds to the Jacks' 26. Darnell Martin snatched a team-high 13 rebounds.
 
Sadler was Cal State Dominguez Hills' top scorer with 17 points. He connected on 7-of-10 shots from the field and was 3-for-3 on free throw opportunities. Sadler was also the Toros second-best rebounder with nine boards.
 
The Green and Gold return to the North Coast next week and play host to Cal State Stanislaus Thursday in Lumberjack Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

"Splitting on the road was something we didn't want to settle for (this weekend)," said Kinder. "There is no place like home and we are looking forward to being back in Lumberjack Arena. We will be playing two very good basketball teams and we will have to be at our best against (Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State). We competed well against both those teams on the road and now it is time to take care of business at home."