Jan. 23, 2006

Box Score

(San Diego, Calif.) - The USD Toreros rebounded well from their heartbreak game against Gonzaga by dealing the visiting Portland Pilots a 78-68 setback. With the win the Toreros improve to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in the WCC. The Pilots drop to 8-12 overall and 2-4 in league play. Torero guard Ross DeRogatis canned 5 three-pointers in the first half for 15 points and Gyno Pomare came off the bench to chip in with 13 to help the Toreros to a 44-35 intermission lead. DeRogatis finished with a team-high 19 points and 6 assists, while Pomare tallied 17 points and 8 boards for the game. Portland's Pooh Jeter led all scorers with 26. USD heads to the bay area next weekend for games at Saint Mary's (Sat.) and Santa Clara (Mon.).

In the first half DeRogatis had made his first five three-pointers in giving the Toreros a 22-18 lead with 10:21 to go. From there Pomare scored the team's next 7 points in extending the lead to 29-18 with 8:35 to go. Portland got within 5 points twice before intermission, but USD settled for a 44-35 halftime lead.

In the 2nd half Portland scored the first 8 points out of the gates in pulling to within 44-43, but Ray Murdock scored a bucket and Theo White followed with a layup and two free throws to put the Toreros back up by seven, 50-43. From there USD would forge ahead by as many as 12 (61-49) on a three-point play from Brandon Johnson, and would be in control the rest of the way.

For the game USD shot 53.2% from the floor, 43.8% from beyond the three-point arc (7-16) and 67.7% from the charity stripe. Brandon Johnson totaled 10 points and Ray Murdock chipped in with 9 points. For Portland, Marcus Lewis added 15 points and 5 rebounds.