Nov. 22, 2004
Box Score
(San Diego, CA) - The USD men's basketball team (2-1) jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back as they handed visiting Occidental College (2-1) an 89-53 loss at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Senior forward Brandon Gay paced three Toreros in double digits with 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor. Brett Melton banged home 4 treys and finished with 14 points, all in the 1st half, while senior center Brice Vounang chipped in with 11 points and a game-high 9 rebounds.
By halftime the Toreros had built a 46-20 advantage with Melton and Gay (13 points) leading the way. USD had converted 51.6% (16-31) of their shots in the first 20 minutes and collected 9 steals with Corey Belser contributing 4. USD's stingy defense caused the Oxy Tigers to turn the ball over 16 times in the half and 23 for the game. Belser finished with 5 picks after netting 6 steals against UC San Diego this past Saturday.
For the second straight game head coach Brad Holland was able to play all 12 players that suited up. Sophomore guard Michael Hubbard was the scoring leader off the bench with 9 points while Nick Lewis added 8. For the game USD shot 47.6% from the field (30-63), 34.6% from 3-point range (9-26) and 87.0% from the free throw line (20-23). The Toreros outrebounded the Tigers 41-26.
Occidental was paced by Joe Sasich (15 points), Zach Phillips (11 points), Dylan Marvin (11 points) and Jamal Thornes (10 points). USD's defense limited Oxy to 38.0% shooting (19-50).
The Toreros return to the Jenny Craig Pavilion this Saturday, Nov. 27th, when they take on the San Jose State Spartans in a 4:05 p.m. contest.
