Dec. 23, 2010

Box Score

HONOLULU, Hawaii - The University of San Diego men's basketball team fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs Thursday afternoon 69-52 on day two of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

USD falls to 2-10 overall this season and were led by Jordan Mackie with nine points. Devin Ginty had eight points and seven rebounds while Darian Norris had seven points and six rebounds. Mississippi State moves on to 8-4.

San Diego kept pace in the opening minutes of the game as Devin Ginty opened up with a three pointer at the 18:15 mark to take a 3-2 lead. The Bulldogs began to slowly pull away as the Toreros battled to stay with Mississippi State. San Diego had many opportunities to try and get a run going including a three pointer by Jordan Mackie at the 10:34 mark cutting the Bulldog lead 18-12. A missed MSU field goal and a Chris Gabrial rebound in the paint was one opportunity for the Toreros to make a run as Darian Norris took a hard foul, but the Toreros were unable to get anything out of it.

San Diego had 13 points come from the bench in the first half, with Ken Rancifer leading the team with six points in the opening half. The Bulldogs just barely had an advantage in rebounds 22-21 in the first half.

San Diego worked to keep the Bulldogs from pulling to far ahead, however MSU began to increase their lead in the first five minutes of the half taking an 18 point lead 47-29. MSU's biggest lead came at 5:31 when they took a 22 point lead. Ginty and Mackie both sunk three pointers in the final minutes of the game, however Mississippi State went on to defeat USD 69-52.

The Toreros have a day off to celebrate Christmas Eve on Friday. They return for their final game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic on Saturday, December 25 at 11:00 a.m. pacific time. USD takes on Utah (7-5) in the 7th place contest. Utah dropped a 68-55 decision to host Hawaii on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on XTRA Sports 1360 AM, as well as USDToreros.com.