Feb. 20, 2009
GAME #28: The University of San Diego men's basketball team (13-14), under the direction of 2nd-year head coach Bill Grier, will look to snap their three-game losing skid Saturday evening when they play host to the University of the Pacific Tigers (14-10) in a ESPNU BracketBusters game. Tip-off is slated for 6:05 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
SERIES RECORD: This is the sixth meeting between San Diego and Pacific with the visiting Tigers owning a 3-2 lead... UOP has won the last two meetings in the series, and the last contest between these two programs came in San Diego in 1996 (63-57 UOP victory).
RADIO/INTERNET: Saturday's game will also be broadcast on XX Sports Radio 1090 AM with Andy Masur (play-by-play) and John Kentera (color analyst) bringing you the action - Pre-game begins at 5:45 pm. The game can also be heard via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com.
WCC STANDINGS (thru Feb. 20th): #17 Gonzaga (11-0 wcc; 20-5), Portland (8-3; 17-9), Saint Mary's (8-4; 21-5), Santa Clara (6-5; 14-14), Pepperdine (5-6; 8-19), San Diego (5-7; 13-14), San Francisco (1-10; 9-17), Loyola Marymount (1-10; 2-25).
UPCOMING WCC SCHEDULE: (Sat., Feb. 21st) Utah State @ St. Mary's (2 pm, BracketBusters), Pacific at San Diego (6 pm, BracketBusters), LMU at Portland (7 pm), Santa Clara at San Francisco (7 pm), Pepperdine at Gonzaga (8:30 pm).
COACH GRIER (2ND YEAR): Coach Bill Grier (Oregon, 1990), 45, is in his second season at the helm of the USD program... He enters the UOP game with a season record of 13-14, and career mark of 35-28 (.555)... In his rookie year he guided the Toreros to an overall mark of 22-14 and 3rd place finish in the WCC race at 11-3... He guided the Toreros to three wins and the championship title at the WCC Tournament (hosted by USD) with wins over Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and No. 20 Gonzaga... The Toreros then upset No. 15 UCONN in the NCAA Tournament opener with a 70-69 overtime victory, before falling to Western Kentucky in the second round... His 11 WCC wins were the second most for league wins in a single season in program history... Hired on March 26, 2007, Grier is USD's 11th head coach overall and just the 4th head coach since the Torero program moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1979-80... His 22 wins were also the most by a Torero coach in his first season at USD - previous mark was 16 held by Hank Egan ('84-85) and Jim Brovelli ('73-74). In addition to knocking off Kentucky on the road, 81-72, the Toreros earned three wins over Top-25 teams: #21 Saint Mary's, #20 Gonzaga and #15 Connecticut... Prior to USD Grier spent 16 years at Gonzaga, including the last 8 seasons as Mark Few's top assistant. Bill and his wife, Nicole, have one daughter, Giselle.
TOREROS DROP HARD FOUGHT CONTEST AT SAINT MARY'S: The Toreros competed hard and with purpose this past Thursday in Moraga, California, but came up a little short in dropping a tough 65-61 decision to the Saint Mary's Gaels... USD drops to 13-14 on the year and 5-6 in the WCC (6th place) while the Gaels improved to 21-5 and 8-4 in the WCC standings (3rd place)... Senior forward Gyno Pomare matched his career high with 25 points, and De'Jon Jackson chipped in with 10 points and 6 assists, but it wasn't enough against a very talented SMC squad... Gaels center Omar Samhan posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
TORERO TIDBITS: The Toreros will continue to be without the services of sophomore guard Trumaine Johnson whose suspension status is now indefinite... He missed the recent Saint Mary's game serving a one-game suspension for violation of team rules... Johnson, who was suspended for the team's first eight games by Grier, and then did not play in the following four, is averaging 11.6 ppg in fourteen contests (11 starts)... In Thursday's loss at Saint Mary's, Chris Lewis came off the bench to convert all three of his 3-point attempts... Gyno Pomare matched his career-high of 25 points by making 10-of-21 shots... De'Jon Jackson dished off a season-best 6 assists... Matt Dorr, who started the team's first 25 games before coming off the bench at Pepperdine, was back in the starting lineup in Moraga... He finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
TOREROS IN WCC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Among WCC teams for all games played this season, USD ranks first in scoring defense (60.7 ppg) and 3-point FG% defense (.325), and second in turnover margin (+1.96) ... Torero players that rank in the top-10 for all games played include Gyno Pomare (3rd in FG% at .531; 7th in FT% at .745; 7th in scoring at 14.0 ppg; 7th in blocked shots at 1.0; and 10th in rebounding at 6.3 rpg), Trumaine Johnson (8th in steals at 1.36; and 10th in assists at 2.71), and Roberto Mafra (8th in blocked shots at 0.93). For WCC games only, USD as a team ranks 1st in scoring defense (59.8 ppg) and turnover margin (+3.33)... USD Toreros that rank in the top-10 for WCC games only include Gyno Pomare (9th in free throw percentage at .745; 9th in FG% at .504; 10th in blocked shots at 0.92), and Trumaine Johnson (6th in assist/turnover margin at +1.14; and 7th in assists at 3.00).
TOREROS 7-5 IN HOME GAMES: USD improved to 7-5 at home with their Feb. 7th 73-63 victory over San Francisco... In seven of the twelve home games USD has held its opponent to 59 points or less... USD's scoring margin at home is +7.4 ppg (66.1 ppg to 58.7 ppg)...In games played at the JCP the Toreros are converting 45.6% of their shots (290-636), 36.2% of its three-point attempts (63-174) and 68.8% of its free throws (150-218)... Gyno Pomare leads the Toreros in scoring at the JCP (13.8 ppg) and is followed by Trumaine Johnson (12.6 ppg) and Rob Jones (9.7 ppg)... Sophomore guard Matt Dorr has knocked down 45.7% of his threes at home (21-for-46)... Four of USD's five home losses are by a combined 12 points (64-62 to SCU, 56-52 to SJSU, 57-54 to New Mexico, 75-72 to Boise State)... Last year USD was 13-5 in home games; Coach Grier is now 20-10 at the JCP.
SCOUTING THE PACIFIC TIGERS: The University of the Pacific Tigers are a member of the Big West Conference and are under the direction of veteran coach Bob Thomason (21st year)... This season the Tigers own an overall record of 14-10 and 7-6 in the Big West... Their recent two-game win streak (CS Fullerton and UC Irvine) was snapped on Feb. 19th by the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 67-57... For UOP, guard Michael Kirby (11 points) and forward Bryan LeDuc (10 points) were the lone Tigers to reach double-digit scoring... Season leaders include LeDuc, a 6-8 senior, who averages a team-best 11.1 ppg, and 6-4 senior guard Chad Troyer (10.6 ppg)... UOP is averaging 66.6 ppg a game, and like USD, is a very good defensive squad limiting its opponents to 62.5 ppg... The Tigers are 3-1 against WCC teams this season.
MIKE WHITMARSH MEMORIAL SERVICE INFORMATION: The USD family and the entire San Diego community lost a good friend with the recent passing of former men's basketball player Mike Whitmarsh (`85 graduate; played at USD two years between 1982-84)... An honorable mention All-American his senior season, Whitmarsh led USD to its first ever WCC title and NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in 1984... That season he averaged 18.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 6.0 assists... A two-time team MVP and First Team All-WCC pick, he later excelled in the sport of professional beach volleyball where he won numerous titles and garnered a silver medal in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta... He is survived by his wife Cindy and two daughters, Jaden & Kendall... The memorial service will be this coming Monday, Feb. 23rd, from 11 am to 12:15 p.m. at St. Therese of Carmel, 4355 Del Mar Trails Road, San Diego, CA... In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The Jaden and Kendall Whitmarsh College Fund or The Mike Whitmarsh Memorial Basketball Fund... For more information, visit www.usdtoreros.com.
WCC TOURNAMENT HEADING TO LAS VEGAS: The Toreros will make a return trip to Las Vegas in March when they play in the WCC Tournament (Mar. 6-9)... This will mark the first time in WCC history that the conference's premier event will be held at a neutral site... The event will be held The Orleans Arena... Visit WCCSPORTS.COM or USDTOREROS.COM... Approximately 250 tickets out of 7,354 remain available for sale... Besides the championship game airing on ESPN, it will also be broadcast on Westwood One Radio for the first time.
WCC TOURNAMENT MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR MARCH 2ND: The annual West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament media teleconference is set for Monday, March 2, 2009, beginning at 1:00 p.m. (PT). The format will feature the naming of the 2009 men's and women's all-WCC teams, including the respective Player of the Year honorees. All head coaches will appear on the call according to first-round matchups.
UP NEXT FOR USD: The Toreros close out their regular-season slate with back-to-back home games against Portland (Feb. 26th, 7 pm, 4SD) and vs. Gonzaga (Feb. 28th, 4:30 pm, ESPN2).
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