Dec. 3, 2005
Box Score
(Greenville, SC) - Junior guard Ross DeRogatis scored a career-high 28 points, including 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, to lead the Toreros (4-2) to an 80-73 win over Furman University (3-3). USD held a 17 point lead with just over 4 minutes to go when Furman rallied to close to within 73-71 with just under a minute to go. With 17 seconds left, DeRogatis nailed a trey as the shot clock was winding down to put USD up 76-71. He followed that up with a steal and two free throws to ice the victory. USD made 13 of 25 three-pointers and 17-19 free throws for the big win. Nick Lewis chipped in with 16 points.
Asked about his key three-pointer in the final seconds, junior guard Ross DeRogatis said, "The play was set up to get it inside to Nick. He quickly got double teamed an unselfishly dished it out to me. My job is to hit the outside shots when the ball gets kicked out to me, and fortunately I was able to make my share again."
USD turned in a big first half as they jumped to a 43-26 intermission lead. DeRogatis had 15 of his game-high 28 points by intermission as he canned 5-o-7 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. The game was tied at 23-all with 7:11 to go in the half when USD closed it out on a 20-3 run. USD made four three-pointers during this span with DeRogatis nailing two, and freshmen Danny Brown and Ray Murdock each chipping in with one. Murdock's came with 4 seconds left.
In the 2nd half USD quickly increased their lead by as many a 19 points, and were in control most of the half, leading 69-52 with just 4:36 to go. That final 4 minutes and change must have seemed like a lifetime to the Torero team as the host Paladins rallied to get within two points at 73-71 with :54 seconds left on a three-pointer by Moussa Diagne (25 points). It was a 19-4 run for Furman in just over 3 1/2 minutes that would really test the Toreros at the end of the game.
DeRogatis came to the rescue with his 8th three-pointer of the game, this time from deep in the right corner in front of the Torero bench with 17 seconds left that pushed USD's lead back to five at 76-71. Eight seconds later DeRogatis notched his 4th steal and was immediately fouled, cashing in on both of his free throws. Nick Lewis would add two more free throws with three ticks left for the final 80-73 victory. The 8-for-10 three-point shooting by DeRogatis matched his performance last year against Santa Clara when he finished with the same 28 point total.
USD outrebounded Furman, 36-27, and outshot them in all three areas by finishing 48.1% from the field (25-52), 52% from three-point range (13-25) and 89.5% from the free throw line (17-19). Corey Belser chipped in with 10 points, but due to foul trouble, saw his streak of double-double games end at 3. Danny Brown came off the bench to score 8 points as he made 2-of-5 three-pointers.
USD will now play their next six games in San Diego, including five at the JCP where they will start on Tuesday with a rematch against UC Riverside. Game time is 7 pm at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
