SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The USD Toreros used a strong defensive effort to put the clamps on visiting Portland in earning a 61-50 victory in each team's West Coast Conference opener this evening before 1,851 fans at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. With the win the Toreros even their record at 8-8 overall, while the Pilots fall to 7-9. The 50 points the Toreros limited Portland to is a season-low for USD opponents. The win was USD's 5th straight at the Jenny Craig Pavilion and improves their home record to 7-2.
Chris Anderson led the Toreros in scoring with 14 points
"I thought this was a really, really big game for us," said head coach Bill Grier. "This was a game I thought we had to have. This was a typical league game. It was two teams battling really hard and neither team really getting into an offensive rhythm. What I was pleased with was the way we finished this game off."
Sophomore guard Christopher Anderson, who missed his first collegiate game in USD's last outing with the flu, returned to the starting lineup to spark the Toreros with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Senior forward Ken Rancifer chipped in with 10 second half points and senior forward Chris Manresa just missed out on his third straight double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
The first half saw the game knotted at 27-all with no player scoring more than 6 points in the first 20 minutes. In the second half Portland edged ahead by 3 points on three different occasions, the last coming at 36-33 with 14:43 to go. From there Rancifer added a three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play to give USD a 39-36 lead with 12:37 left.
A layup by Thomas van der Mars gave Portland their final lead at 42-41 with 7:55 to go. USD's Mike Davis answered with a layup, and the game was tied for the final time at 43-43 with 6:13 to go. From there it was all Toreros as they closed the game 18-7 run. USD's final offensive surge was paced by six points from Anderson and five points by Johnny Dee. On the defensive end in the closing minutes Jito Kok had a couple of big blocks and finished the game with 4 points and 3 blocks.
For the game USD shot 40.8% from the field, 37.5% from the three-point arc (6-16) and a solid 78.9% from the free throw line (15-19). The Toreros are off this weekend, and return to action with back-to-back WCC games at USF (Jan. 10th) and Pepperdine (Jan. 12th).
(Las Vegas, NV) - The USD Toreros delivered their biggest win of the season Friday evening with their 72-69 victory over the No. 3 seed BYU Cougars. Sophomore guard Johnny Dee poured in 25 points,... Read More [+]
The USD Toreros (15-17), the WCC's No. 6 seed, will play the No. 3 seed BYU Cougars (21-10 record) this evening in the second quarterfinal contest at approximately 8:30 pm. USD advanced following ... Read More [+]
(Las Vegas, NV) - The USD Toreros held on for a 62-59 victory in second round action at the 2013 WCC Basketball Championships over the Pepperdine Waves Thursday evening. With the win the Toreros... Read More [+]
Four years ago a two-time high school MVP out of Oakland California by the name of Ken Rancifer chose to play for the University of San Diego, and made his childhood dream of playing Division I... Read More [+]
The USD Toreros (14-17), the WCC's No. 6 seed, will play the No. 7 seed Pepperdine Waves (12-17) this coming Thursday, March 7th, in the last game of the evening (approximately 8:30 pm). This... Read More [+]
(San Diego, Calif.) - It was Senior Day at the Jenny Craig Pavilion and USD's trio of seniors (Chris Manresa, Cameron Miles, Ken Rancifer) played a huge role in the team's hard-fought 76-69 victory... Read More [+]
The USD Toreros (13-7; 6-9 WCC) close out their regular-season schedule Saturday afternoon against the Pepperdine Waves. Game time is 12 noon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100 capacity). These... Read More [+]
The University of San Diego men's basketball (13-17, 6-9) fell to San Francisco (14-15, 7-9) 83-70 Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion dropping their fifth game in a row. The Toreros knocked... Read More [+]
The USD Toreros (13-16; 6-8 WCC) close out their regular-season schedule with two home games this week against San Francisco and Pepperdine. The USF Dons (13-15, 6-9 WCC) come to town for a 6:00 p... Read More [+]
University of San Diego sophomore point guard Christopher Anderson has been nominated for the GEICO Play of the Year for his remarkable coast-to-coast game-winning reverse layup against LMU on... Read More [+]
News
Roster
Schedule
