Nov. 14, 2012

Final Stats

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of San Diego men's basketball team (2-0) came back to knock off the Northern Kentucky (0-1) 65-61 in the first game of the NUCDF Basketball Challenge Wednesday night.

Sophomore point guard Christopher Anderson made some key lay-ins down the stretch to secure the win for the Toreros, who were down by as many as eight in the second half. Anderson finished with 13 points (4-9 shooting) and six assists.

Junior forward Dennis Kramer led the Toreros in scoring for the second straight game, scoring 15 points on 4-5 shooting while going 7-8 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Johnny Dee chipped in 14 points as well. The Toreros were without senior center Chris Manresa, who sat out with a sore back.

The Norse of Northern Kentucky were playing in their first game as a Division I school and played the Toreros tight from the tip to the final buzzer in a game that saw ten ties.

The game was back and forth in the first half, as the Toreros took a 30-26 lead into the locker room at half despite outshooting the Norse 55.6% to 34.6% from the field.

Behind hot shooting, the Norse went on an 8-0 run midway through the second half, putting the Toreros down 51-43 with just under ten minutes remaining. The Toreros slowly started chipping away at the lead and eventually regained it on an Anderson driving lay-in with 1:51 remaining. The Toreros would not surrender the lead again and held on to earn their second victory of the season.

The Toreros return to action in the NUCDF Classic Thursday evening against Cal State Northridge at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off is at 7:05 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN 1700 AM with Andy Masur bringing you all the action.