Dec. 31, 2009
Final Stats
San Diego, Calif.- Senior guard Brandon Johnson's career-high 31 points were not off enough for the University of San Diego men's basketball team on Thursday evening as they fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 77-68 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Draining eight of his 16 field goals and 12 of his 15 free throws for the game, Johnson took the game into his own hands for a better part of the second half, trying to keep USD (6-9) within closing distance of Mississippi State (12-2). Johnson scored 11 straight points for the Toreros over a three-minute stretch in the middle of the final frame, but the Bulldogs would not allow San Diego to crawl back in the end.
In addition to his 31 points, Johnson grabbed four steals and three rebounds, while also tallying two assists. Senior forward Roberto Mafra tied his career-high with 14 points for the second consecutive game before fouling out with 2:49 remaining. Senior forward Chris Lewis recorded nine boards, seven on the defensive side, to go along with his with eight points.
The Toreros grabbed their only lead in the game at the 18:01 mark in the first half when Mafra hit a jumper to set the score at 4-2. Johnson later went on to stretch the USD advantage to five less than two minutes later with a three following a Lewis offensive rebound.
USD continued to match Mississippi State's offensive output and maintained control of the score before the Toreros entered a rough patch of possessions, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice midway through the first half. The bumpy stretch for San Diego allowed Mississippi State to go on a 10-0 run, giving the visitors a 26-20 lead with 5:04 to go in the first half.
Johnson closed the gap to two when he nailed a jumper with 3:37 left, but the Toreros would fall behind 38-30 entering halftime. USD was 11-for-30 from the field in the first 20 minutes of action while Mississippi State hit 16 of their 27 field goals in the first half.
San Diego trailed by 12 with seven and a half minutes to play in the final half when Ken Rancifer sparked an 8-2 run, bringing the Toreros to within six with fewer than four minutes left. After the Bulldogs opened up the game to 66-55 a minute later, the Toreros refused to go down quietly, as Chris Lewis and De'Jon Jackson accounted for nine points, all via three-pointers, in less than a minute to cut the deficit to six, 72-66, with 50 seconds remaining.
Jarvis Varnado paced the Bulldogs with 23 points and 17 rebounds.
The Toreros will look to bounce back when they take on Florida A&M on January 3rd at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Sunday's contest is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
