Dec. 4, 2009

Box Score

San Diego, Calif.- After holding a 19-point lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game, the University of San Diego men's basketball team allowed the UC Riverside Highlanders to crawl back and steal a 58-55 victory on Friday night at the Student Recreation Center.

The double-digit advantage for USD was not erased by UC Riverside until there were 30 seconds remaining, as Dwight Gordon broke a 55-55 tie with a pair of free throws to place the Highlanders in the lead for the first time since the 8:26 mark in the first half.

USD got the ball back with 26.9 seconds left, but Brandon Johnson was called for traveling, turning the ball back over into the hands of UC Riverside. After a quick foul by USD to force UC Riverside to the charity stripe, Dwight Gordon made only the second of his two free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining in the game, forcing the Toreros to quickly push the ball up the court to attempt to cancel out the UC Riverside 58-55 lead.

Johnson, who made two of the three field goals for the Toreros in the second half, attempted the final shot as time expired, but his three-point attempt from the corner fell short and prevented USD from sending the contest into overtime for the second consecutive game.

The loss for the Toreros (4-4) is their third-straight while UC Riverside (5-2) extends their winning streak to five games.

De'Jon Jackson scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the first half, while also adding three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Johnson was the only other Torero to reach double-figures in points with 10. Jackson and Johnson were among nine different Toreros to record at least two points in the game. Chris Manresa had a team-high eight boards for the Toreros, but USD was out-rebounded by UC Riverside, 41-23, for the game.

The Toreros could not fight off their cold streak of shooting in the second half, as they went a span of 12 minutes in the middle of the second half without hitting a field goal. Roberto Mafra's field goal at 15:22 was the last shot made by USD before Johnson sunk a field goal from within the lane at the 3:07 mark to put the Toreros up 54-50.

For the entire second half, USD was 3-of-19 from the field, including 0-for-9 from three-point range, helping UC Riverside outscore the Toreros 34-15 in the final 20 minutes of play.

USD entered halftime with a 40-24 lead, as their combination of press defense and on-target shooting placed them in an apparent commanding position. The Toreros forced the Highlanders into 13 turnovers during the first half and collected six steals, with Chris Lewis leading the way with three. The Toreros connected on 13-of-26 field goals while holding the Highlanders to 9-of-23 shooting.

Jackson was the primary source of offense for USD in the first half when he scored eight points in 1:11 minutes, hitting a field goal and two threes to place the Toreros in the lead 20-17 with 8:01 left in the opening half.

The Toreros will continue their two-game road trip when they take on the Fresno State Bulldogs on Sunday, December 6th. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. PT.