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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 15, 2009

BYUH men get Sweet 16 matchup

Photo gallery: BYUH vs. Cal State basketball

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

BYUH's Tsung-Hsien "Jet" Chang had 19 points in an 84-71 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills last night.

ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

BYUH's Lucas Alves grabs a rebound against Cal State Dominguez Hills during the first half at the Cannon Activities Center.

ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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LA'IE — Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Lucas Alves stepped up his game by stepping behind the 3-point line and nailing shots last night against Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Seasiders teammate Tsung-Hsien Chang is nicknamed "Jet," and it's appropriate considering the speed at which he scored points against the Toros.

Alves scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Chang added 19 points off the bench as BYU-Hawai'i beat CS Dominguez Hills, 84-71, in an NCAA Division II Sub-Regional second-round game at Cannon Activities Center.

Alves scored 17 points in the first half and Chang had 11 in the second half for BYU-Hawai'i, ranked No. 3 in Division II.

BYU-Hawai'i (27-1) will host Cal Poly Pomona in a Sweet 16 game Tuesday or Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Seasiders, who have won 24 consecutive games, also advanced to the Sweet 16 last season.

"It feels great," Alves said. "Last year we didn't think we could get there, but we got there. Hopefully, we can go farther. We are more comfortable at home."

BYU-Hawai'i, the Pacific West Conference champion and No. 1 seed in the regional, took its largest lead at 45-32 on Alves' 3-pointer from the top of the key 1:15 into the second half.

But the Toros went on a 27-14 run to tie it 59-59 with eight minutes remaining. Rodney Yearby scored six points during the rally and Michael Hernandez added the final four.

"The other team was playing hard," Alves said. "At the time we knew we could overcome the cold stretch. We just got together as a team."

During the Seasiders' 25-12 game-ending run, Alves scored seven in a row to put BYU-Hawai'i up 79-68 with 44 seconds remaining. Chang added five during the rally.

Alves finished 7 of 14 from the field and 10 of 11 from the line. He also nailed 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

"We weren't expecting that," said CS Dominguez Hill coach Damaine Powell. "I knew he could do that. If you look at the stats, he's taking an average of about 1.5 (3-pointers) per game attempted.

"I really believe that might have been the difference. Every one he took it seemed like it was right on line. It looked good every time he took it."

Alves went 18 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but BYU-Hawai'i was still able to hang on.

"I think other guys on my team took over. They got hot," Alves said.

Chang was 5 of 7 in the second half, including a layup and 3-pointer that put the Seasiders up seven with 3:25 left. He played 27 minutes.

"I just try to help the team and do a good job on defense," Chang said. "We want to keep going."

The Toros employed a full-court pressure defense the entire game, and the Seasiders did a nice job of handling the ball and hitting the open man.

BYU-Hawai'i finished 29 of 62 from the field and committed 15 turnovers. The Toros were 29 of 61 and committed 20 turnovers.

Jerrell Smith scored 16 to lead CS Dominguez Hills (22-7), of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

CS Dominguez Hills, the No. 4 seed, made 5 of its first 7 shots and took an 11-4 lead 3:18 into the game.

The Toros found success by getting the ball inside to Smith, who scored all eight of his first-half points over the first six minutes of the first half.

BYU-Hawai'i neutralized Smith by quickly double teamming him when he caught the ball in the post.

The Seasiders took their first lead at 17-16 with 13:14 remaining on Chang's layup off a beautiful bullet pass from Marques Whippy.

BYU-Hawai'i went on a 15-4 run to take its largest lead of the half at 36-24 with 2:40 remaining. Alves scored seven points during the surge, including the final six. BYUH led 42-33 at halftime.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.