Nov. 19, 2010

Box Score

(San Diego, CA) - The USD Toreros dropped a hard-fought 65-60 decision to the visiting Boise State Broncos before 2,711 fans at the Jenny Craig Pavilion this evening. With the loss USD falls to 1-2 on the season while Boise State improves to 2-0. The Broncos received a game-high 25 points from forward Robert Arnold, while USD was paced by junior point guard Darian Norris (18 points). The Toreros return to the JCP this Sunday to play the Cal State Fullerton Titans (0-3) in a 4:35 p.m. contest.

USD jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the first half with Norris scoring the final 5 points of the run with a three-pointer and two free throws. Boise State battled back and eventually took a brief 24-23 lead with 6:05 to go on a three-point play from Arnold as he made a jumper and was fouled by Chris Manresa. A Matt Dorr three put USD ahead again and they headed into the halftime break with a 32-27 lead.

It was Boise State that had the good start to the second half as they jumped out with a 9-0 run that culminated with a Daequon Montreal jumper for a 36-32 lead. At the mid-way point, back-to-back three-pointers from Norris and Chris Manresa gave USD a 50-48 lead with 9 minutes to go. USD would hold its final lead of the game at 54-53 on a free throw by Norris, but from there the Broncos made more plays in going up by as many as 7 points twice before settling for the 5 point win.

For the game USD shot 41.7% from the field, 47.1% from beyond the three-point arc, and 80% from the free throw line. The stat that jumps off the page and tells the story is rebounding - the Broncos held a commanding 44-25 advantage. Sixteen of their caroms came on the offensive end, while the Toreros managed just 3 offensive boards.

Besides Norris, the Toreros received double-digit scoring from Matt Dorr (13) and Ken Rancifer (11). Manresa scored 9 points, and also chipped in with 9 rebounds, 5 blocked shots, 2 assists and a steal.