Dec. 5, 2005
GAME #7: The USD Toreros (4-2), riding a 3-game winning streak, will host the UC Riverside Highlanders (0-4) in a rematch game this coming Tuesday, Dec. 6th in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. After playing 5 of their first 6 games on the road, USD begins a stretch of 6 straight games in San Diego, including 5 at their home court JCP.
TV/WEBCAST: Channel 4 San Diego will televise the game with Jim Stone (play-by-play) and Jim Brogan (color analyst) calling the action. The audio broadcast will also be simulcast and available online at www.usdtoreros.com.
SERIES RECORD: This is the 22nd meeting between the USD Toreros and UC Riverside Highlanders, and USD holds a 15-6 advantage...these two teams met earlier this season in Riverside on Nov. 25th with the Toreros coming out on top, 82-65... Nick Lewis scored a career-high 29 points to lead the way... USD has won four straight in the series.
Brad Holland (12TH YEAR): Coach Brad Holland (UCLA, 1979) is in his 12th season with the Toreros' program. Last year he guided the Toreros to a 16-13 overall mark and 3rd place finish in the competitive WCC. For his efforts he was named WCC Coach of the Year by The CollegeInsider.com. Holland entered this season with 108 wins over the past seven seasons, including a personal-best 20 wins in 1999-2000. Three seasons ago he directed the Toreros to an overall 18-12 record and 2nd place finish in the WCC at 10-4. USD won its first WCC Tournament title and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years. Holland's USD career mark heading into Tuesday's game is 168-152; including two years at CS Fullerton, his overall coaching record is 191-183. His home win over USF last Feb. 9th made him USD's all-time winningest coach for the men's program with 161 victories; he passed Jim Brovelli (160-131; 1973-84). Holland, who played four years at UCLA (1976-79), was the 14th player taken in the 1st round of the 1979 NBA draft by the LA Lakers. He was a member of the 1980 NBA L.A. Lakers championship team. Brad and his wife Leslie, who reside in Carlsbad, have three children: twin daughters Kristin and Lisa, 2005 USD graduates, and a son, Kyle.
WCC STANDINGS (thru Dec. 4th): #6 Gonzaga (4-2), San Diego (4-2), Santa Clara (3-2), Loyola Marymount (2-4), San Francisco (2-4), Saint Mary's (1-2), Portland (2-5), Pepperdine (1-4).
Ross DeRogatis SHOOTS TOREROS PAST FURMAN 80-73: 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) this past Saturday. The WCC honored him as co-Offensive Player of the Week after he averaged 24.0 ppg and made 14-18 three-pointers in back-to-back wins over SDSU and Furman. 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. 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.
TOREROS WIN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP 90-80: Before a sellout crowd at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Toreros (3-2) earned bragging rights in San Diego for the next year with a solid 90-80 win over the SDSU Aztecs (3-2). USD's 'Big Three' of Ross DeRogatis (20 points), Corey Belser (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Nick Lewis (16 points) paved the way, but it was a total team effort. USD's two 5th-year seniors improved on a couple of personal highlights - Lewis became USD's 18th player to crack 1,000 career points (now at 1,010) and Belser notched his third straight double-double. USD started strong out of the gates, building a 15-6 lead at the 14:24 mark on a three by freshman Ray Murdock. USD would hold an 8 point lead of 27-19 at just under the 8 minute mark, but the visitors stormed back to jump ahead for the first time at 29-27 on a trey by Brandon Heath at the 4:26 mark. The Aztecs extended it to 7 points, but USD was able to close the deficit to 3 at halftime (38-35) on a three-point play by Lewis. USD played a solid 2nd half, turning the ball over just 5 times after 10 miscues in the first half. USD regained the lead at 42-41 early in the 2nd half on a trey by DeRogatis, and would never trail again. State closed to within 56-55 with 9:50 to go on a Heath jumper, but the Toreros answered by outscoring the visitors 34-25 the rest of the way. Nir Cohen was USD's 4th player in double figures with 12 points. Freshman Brandon Johnson chipped in with 9 points and 5 assists, and Ray Murdock tallied 9 points. As a team USD shot 52.5% from the floor, and canned 60% of their field goals in the 2nd half. The Toreros made 11-21 treys with DeRogatis nailing 6-of-8 to lead the way.
TOREROS EARN 82-65 WIN OVER UC RIVERSIDE: Nick Lewis scored a career-high 29 points as San Diego beat UC Riverside 82-65 last Saturday in Riverside. Lewis made 13-for-16 shots from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Senior Corey Belser notched his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win. The Toreros used a 9-0 run to start the second half to build on their 34-25 halftime lead. Ross DeRogatis added 12 points, and Gyno Pomare chipped in with 10 points for San Diego (2-2). Belser led the Toreros with 10 rebounds, and Lewis grabbed eight. UC Riverside (0-3) shot just 32.4 percent, just 23.7 percent in the first half. The Highlanders connected on only four of their twenty-two 3-point attempts. San Diego led throughout, starting with a 6-0 run on their way to a 34-25 halftime lead. The Toreros' biggest lead was 25 in the 2nd half when Nir Cohen made a lay-up with 9:56 to play that put them ahead 63-38. Brandon Johnson dished out a season-best 9 assists to go with 4 points and 5 rebounds. San Diego shot 58.9 percent (33-for-56), well above their 44 percent season average. Larry Cunningham led UC Riverside with 18 points.
Ross DeRogatis SHOOTS LIGHTS OUT: Ross "DeRo" DeRogatis shot lights out in back-to-back wins for the Toreros as USD defeated cross-town rival San Diego State (90-80) and Furman on the road (80-73)... for the two games he averaged 24.0 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.0 rpg, and 2.0 steals... he combined to shoot 66.7% from the field overall (14-21), an amazing 77.8% from beyond the 3-point arc (14-18), and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line... in Wednesday's win over San Diego State, Ross scored a team-high 20 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists... he canned 6-of-8 three-pointers with 5 of them coming in the 2nd half after USD trailed 38-35 at intermission... on Saturday at Furman, Ross continued his torrid shooting, making 8-of-10 three-pointers and matching his career-high of 28 points (vs. SCU last year where he also made 8-10 treys)... he helped USD jump out to 43-26 halftime advantage by making 5-7 three-pointers, then after USD saw a 19-point 2nd half lead dwindle to 2 points late, he made his 8th three-pointer with 17 seconds left to build USD's lead back up to 5 points, then with 9 seconds left, stole the ball from Furman, and after being fouled, made both free throws to ice the game... he also dished out a season-best 7 assists and totaled 4 steals.
USD'S "BIG 3" LEAD TOREROS TO THREE STRAIGHT WINS: Although head coach Brad Holland would be the first to say the key to USD's three straight wins has been "a total team effort", and there have been key minutes played by up to ten players, it is hard to look past what his three returning starters did during this stretch... the Torero trio of Nick Lewis, Corey Belser and Ross DeRogatis played brilliantly with Lewis averaging 20.3 ppg & 6.3 rpg; DeRogatis averaging 20.0 ppg and 4.7 apg; and Belser averaging 13.3 ppg and 8.0 rpg... Lewis started the three-game streak by scoring a career-high 29 points in the team's 82-65 road win at UC Riverside; Belser turned in a huge double-double with 18 points & 12 rebounds in the team's 90-80 win over San Diego State; and DeRogatis was virtually unstoppable with 28 points in USD's 80-73 road win at Furman by making 8-of-10 three-pointers.... USD as a team wasn't bad either during this stretch, outscoring its opponents 84.0 ppg to 72.7 ppg, and outrebounding them 36.7 rpg to 33.7 rpg... USD shot 53.3% from the field (90-169), 49.1% from three-point range (27-55) and 81.8% from the free throw line (45-55).
TORERO TIDBITS: After five road games in their first six contests, the Toreros return to San Diego where they will now close out the month of December with six games in San Diego... five will be at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, while Saturday's (Dec. 10th) game against Fresno State will be played at SDSU's Cox Arena in the first game of the San Diego Slam... so far USD has shown that it will be a very good free throw shooting team - through six games they are connecting at a 77.3% clip (USD's season record of 75% was set last year)... Nick Lewis moved by Ken Smith (1,023 points; 1972-76) and into 17th place all-time for USD scoring - Nick sits at 1,026 points... next on the list is Wayman Strickland at No. 16 (1,040 points; 1988-92)... Lewis is the lone Torero this season to score in double digits in each of the six contests - dating back to the end of last season his streak is now at 9 games... Corey Belser leads the team with three double-doubles... that is one more than the two he tallied a year ago... Ross DeRogatis has already bombed in 21 treys in just 6 games - last year he finished with 48 makes on 104 attempts (46.2%)... USD's 13 made three pointers at Furman was just one shy of the school record of 14 set in three previous games. 5th-YEAR SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Coach Holland and his staff will have the luxury of having two experienced players that are entering their fifth year with the program - senior forwards Corey Belser (Spanaway, Washington) and Nick Lewis (Paradise Valley, Arizona). Belser, who last year was named the Mid-Major Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com, will once again have the chore of stopping the opponent's top scorer. Look for Belser to also pick up in the scoring department, something he wasn't asked to do last year with Gay and Vounang in the line-up. Belser proved he is worthy with a 15 point/10 rebound effort in last year's impressive 95-88 road win at Wyoming; with a 17 point/8 rebound total in the team's 3-point home loss to 2nd place Saint Mary's; and with his 10 point/11 rebound game in the team's 86-80 win over Pepperdine in their quarterfinal contest of the WCC Tournament. Nick Lewis will be one of the league's premier players at both ends of the floor. He is the team's top returning scorer (12.6 ppg) and rebounder (5.2 rpg), and should see increased production in both of those categories. He showed his offensive talents last year by scoring in double figures in 20 of 29 games played. He posted three double-doubles that was highlighted by his 28 point/10 rebound performance in the team's 92-88 home win over Pepperdine. He also posted back-to-back double-doubles in solid wins over Northern Arizona (13/10) and UC Santa Barbara (20/11).
FILLING BIG SHOES: The 2005-06 team has some big shoes to fill as they look to replace the leadership, scoring and rebounding of graduated seniors Brice Vounang and Brandon Gay... the Torero duo shared last year's MVP award and were both honored as NABC District 15 picks... Gay led the team in scoring (17.4 ppg/6.6 rpg) while Vounang paced the team in rebounding (15.1 ppg/7.5 rpg).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Facing a very demanding early schedule, UC Riverside is off to a 0-4 start under 1st year head coach David Spencer... the Highlanders have faced two Pac-10 schools (Washington State & USC) and two WCC schools (Portland & USD)... guards Rickey Porter (11.3 ppg) and Larry Cunningham (10.3 ppg) lead UC Riverside in scoring... UCR's up-tempo offensive attack has seen them attempt 102 three-pointers with 20 makes (19.6%)... they are averaging 60.5 ppg while giving up 85.2 ppg. The Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions, under the direction of 4th year coach Art Wilmore, was off to a 5-2 start ... they gave SDSU a game on Dec. 3rd before falling 88-77; Matt Benson led the Sea Lions with 21 points... prior the USD game they will face The Master's College (Dec. 6th)... junior center Tim Kruge was leading four players in double digit scoring through 6 games at 15.2 ppg... Xavier Lopez, Matt Benson and Caseyt Ortiz were all right around 12 ppg.
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE: Following Saturday's game against Fresno State on Dec. 10th in the San Diego Slam at Cox Arena, USD will close out the month of December with three straight home games against Texas-Arlington (Dec. 17), Loyola-Chicago (Dec. 20) New Mexico on Dec. 22nd, and at Eastern Washington on New Year's Day. The West Coast Conference 2006 men's basketball schedule will be switching to a Saturday-Monday format to allow the WCC to participate on ESPN's 'Big Monday' television package. With that USD will kickoff their WCC slate on the road with games at Loyola Marymount (Sat., Jan. 7th) and Pepperdine (Mon., Jan. 9th). USD's WCC home opener will be against the Santa Clara Broncos on Monday, January 16th, followed by Gonzaga (Jan. 21st) and Portland (Jan. 23rd). USD will complete their WCC homestand with Saint Mary's on Monday, February 20th, before closing out their regular-season at Gonzaga and Portland. The West Coast Conference Tournament will take place in Spokane, WA (Mar. 3-6) on the campus of Gonzaga University.
WCC SWITCHES TO SATURDAY-MONDAY FORMAT: The WCC will be switching to a Saturday-Monday format to compete on ESPN's "Big Monday" television package this conference season. The WCC will share the "Big Monday" lineup with the WAC. USD is not scheduled for any of these games.
WCC TOURNEY HEADS TO SPOKANE, WASHINGTON: The WCC Basketball Tournament heads to the Pacific Northwest in 2006 as Gonzaga hosts the WCC's premier event for the first time at the McCarthey Athletic Center. For the 4th consecutive season, the men's championship will use an 8-Team/Play-in format, while the women's championship will use the traditional 1 vs. 8 format with no byes for the second straight year. The women will play March 2-5, 2006 and the men will square-off March 3-6, 2006. The 2006 championship begins a two-year Northwest stint for the tourney, as the event will be held at the University of Portland in 2007 before returning to Southern California in 2008 and 2009.
UP NEXT: USD will host the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions (5-2) this coming Thursday, Dec. 8th, at 7:05 pm... PLNU is coming off a 88-77 defeat at the hands of San Diego State from Dec. 3rd... following the Point Loma contest, USD will head to Cox Arena to participate in the San Diego Slam on Dec. 10th... the Toreros will face Fresno State at 5:30 p.m., with SDSU playing Washington State at 8 pm.
