Feb. 20, 2004
GAMES #27: The USD Toreros (1-10 WCC; 4-22) play their final regular-season home game Saturday when they entertain the San Francisco Dons (5-6 WCC; 15-12). The game will tipoff at 7:05 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
SERIES RECORD: USD leads the series with USF, 25-24. San Francisco snapped a 4-game win streak by the Toreros with their Jan. 22nd home win, 78-68. The Toreros have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.
RADIO/WEBCAST/TV: The game will be aired on KCBQ 1170 AM with Jerry Gross (play-by-play) and George Young (color) calling the action. The game will also be aired via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com and www.kcbq.com. The Brad Holland Show, hosted by Gross, airs 20 minutes before tipoff.
TIO LEOS TORERO TALK: Jack Murray will webcast his last 40 minute pre-game show from 6:00 p.m. to 6:40 p.m. that will include interviews with USD coaches, players, alumni and administration. Go to www.usdtoreros.com and click on the game's Listen Link to hear Tio Leos Torero Talk beginning at 6:00 pm.
Brad Holland (10TH YEAR): Coach Brad Holland (UCLA, 1979) is in his tenth season at the helm of Torero basketball. Last season he directed the Toreros to an overall 18-12 record and 2nd place finish in the WCC at 10-4. The Toreros won their first WCC Tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in sixteen years. In 1999-2000, Holland was chosen WCC Coach of the Year by his peers for the second straight season after he guided the Toreros to a 20-9 mark -- including wins over every WCC foe. In 1998-99 he guided the Toreros to an 18-9 mark and 2nd place finish in the WCC (9-5; tie for 2nd). Holland's USD career mark heading into the USF game is 148-133; including two seasons at CS Fullerton, his overall coaching record is 171-164. Since the start of 1998-99 season, Holland is 92-78. Holland, who played four years of basketball at UCLA (1976-79), was the 14th player taken in the first round of the 1979 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a member of the 1980 NBA Los Angeles Lakers championship team. Brad and his wife Leslie, who reside in Carlsbad, have three children: twin daughters Kristin and Lisa, seniors at USD, and a 11-year-old son, Kyle.
WCC STANDINGS (thru 2-19-04): #6 Gonzaga (12-0; 22-2), Saint Mary's (7-4; 16-10), Pepperdine (7-4; 12-14), San Francisco (5-6; 15-12), Santa Clara (5-6; 13-13), Loyola Marymount (4-7; 13-11), Portland (4-8; 10-15), Sand Diego (1-10; 4-22). OTHER WCC GAMES THIS SAT.: Gonzaga at Tulsa, Pepperdine at Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary's at Santa Clara.
TOREROS KNOCKED OUT BY SAINT MARY'S: The visiting Saint Mary's Gaels, needing a win to keep pace with Pepperdine for second place in the WCC standings, soundly defeated the USD Toreros 87-67. With the win SMC improved to 7-4 in league play and 16-10 overall; the Toreros dropped to 1-10 and 4-22. Gael guard Paul Marigney poured in 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half as Saint Mary's took a commanding 51-37 halftime lead. SMC converted 19-of-26 field goals during the half for a 73.1% clip. Saint Mary's used a balanced offensive attack the rest of the way with Daniel Kickert (16 points), E. J. Rowland (16 points) and Tyler Herr (11 points) also connecting for double digit points. The Gaels converted a blistering 61.5% of their shots (32-52), 43.5% of their treys (10-23) and 81.3% of their charities (13-16). San Diego, which was paced by Nick Lewis with 18 points, had four players reach double-digits. Lewis was followed by Brandon Gay (13 points), Brett Melton (12 points) and Brice Vounang (11 points). Vounang left the game with about 12 minutes to go with a right knee injury and did not return.
McGRAIN & VOUNANG OUT WITH INJURIES: USD's only two players that have started all 26 games this season, juniors Mike McGrain and Brice Vounang, were both injured in the Saint Mary's game ... McGrain, who ranks second in the WCC in assists at 6.50 apg, will be lost for the remainder of the season with a thumb injury (nondisplaced fracture to the tip of his right thumb) ... Vounang, the team's top scorer (17.3 ppg) and rebounder (6.8 rpg), will miss Saturday's game with a right knee injury (sprained medial collateral ligament) ... he'll undergo therapy and be reevaluated early next week regarding his status for road games at Gonzaga & Portland.
TORERO MASH UNIT: With Mike McGrain and Brice Vounang now out with injuries, the Toreros have had a total of seven players this season miss games due to injury ... junior forward Corey Belser (Tacoma, WA), USD's lone returning starter from last year's 18-12 club that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, was lost for the season in the team's second exhibition on Nov. 7th ... after grabbing an offensive rebound 3 minutes into the contest, he injured his right knee ... sophomore guard Travis Smith (right shoulder) has not seen any action this season; Abdou Sane (stress fracture in his right leg) played in the first six games, but has not returned; Brandon Gay, the team's second leading scorer and rebounder, missed the team's first six games recovering from a stress fracture; and walk-on Slater Traaen missed two games earlier in the season with a knee injury.
SENIOR TRIBUTE: USD will pay tribute to its two seniors playing their final year - guard Brad Lechtenberg and forward Abdou Sane (out since early December with stress fracture).
TOREROS DROP TWO ON THE ROAD: Despite 28 points and 12 rebounds from Brice Vounang, USD dropped a 91-73 against Pepperdine last Thursday ... the Waves were paced by guard Terrance Johnson who canned 8-of-11 treys and scored 30 points. On Saturday the Toreros dropped a 66-64 decison at LMU. USD battled back from a 10-point deficit with 9:27 to go to get within one at 61-60 with 4:37 left. The Lions went up by six with a minute to go but Brad Lechtenberg answered with a trey for a 66-63 score. Mike McGrain was fouled with 6/10 of a second left attempting a three-pointer with a chance to send the game into OT with three makes. He made the first, missed the second, then deliberately missed the third but LMU knocked the ball away to end the game. Vounang scored 21 points and Brandon Gay added a double-double with 13 points/12 rebounds.
SCOUTING THE DONS: The USF Dons are tied for 4th with Santa Clara at 5-6 (15-12 overall) ... this past week at home the Dons lost to Gonzaga (71-48), then rebounded with an 86-73 win over Portland .. Tyrone Riley led USF with 15 points against he Zags; against Portland, Riley and Jerome Gumbs each finished with 22 points/11 rebounds ... James Bayless (11.3 ppg) and Riley (11.0 ppg) pace the Dons in scoring ... USF is 4-8 in away games this season.
UP NEXT: After Saturday's contest against San Francisco, the Toreros will close out their regular-season schedule with games in the Pacific Northwest ... USD will take on Gonzaga on Thursday, February 26th (ESPN2, 8 pm) and Portland on Saturday, February 28th (7 pm).
FOLLOW USD ATHLETICS ON THE WEB: Get all the current notes and statistics on San Diego basketball, as well as all USD athletic teams, via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com.
TORERO SPOTLIGHT ON ESPN 800 AM: Every Tuesday and Friday the University of San Diego will air four 'Torero Spotlights' hosted by Jack Murray. Murray will interview USD coaches and student-athletes and promote upcoming Torero events. The Torero Spotlights air at 8:22 a.m, 1:22 p.m., 4:25 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday.
USD PICKED 5TH IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: In the 2003-04 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll the Toreros have been picked to finish 5th. Gonzaga was tabbed as the favorite after receiving 7 first place votes and 49 points. Saint Mary's received one first place vote and tied with Pepperdine for second with 37 points. They were followed by San Francisco (32), San Diego (23), Santa Clara (22), Portland (13) and Loyola Marymount (11).
WCC TOURNEY RETURNS TO BAY AREA: For the first time in four years, the WCC men's and women's Basketball Championships return to the Bay Area. Santa Clara's Leavey Center will be the site of the 2004 championship, while San Francisco will serve as the host site in 2005. Santa Clara has hosted the men's championship on eight different occasions, and the last time was in 2000. The WCC will again use the championship format that was adopted in 2003 where the #5 through #8 seeds will compete in the opening round to determine who will advance to the next round of the tournament. Waiting for the winners in the quarterfinals will be the #3 and #4 seeds, who will have first round byes. The winners of the quarterfinal match-ups will go head-to-head with the #1 and #2 seeds, who will have byes through the first two rounds of the tournament.
A LOOK BACK: Last season the Toreros finished 18-12, won the West Coast Conference Tournament Championship with a 72-63 win over Gonzaga, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the program's first time in sixteen seasons ... the Toreros dropped a tough 77-69 decision to Stanford in the 1st round of the NCAA's played in Spokane, WA ... USD had the luxury of four seniors in the starting lineup that accounted for 73% of its scoring average of 75.5 ppg ... 6-10 center Jason Keep led the way with averages of 18.0 ppg an 9.1 rpg ... 6-8 forward Jason Blair wasn't far behind at 17.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg ... 6-2 guard Roy Morris chipped in 12.3 ppg and 6-2 point guard Matt Delzell added 8.0 ppg.
