Jan. 6, 2011

Final Stats

MALIBU, Calif.- The University of San Diego men's basketball opened West Coast Conference play with a 75-55 loss to the Pepperdine Waves on Thursday night from Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine University. The Toreros (3-12, 0-1 WCC) were outscored 48-27 in the second half after leading the Waves (7-11, 1-0 WCC) 28-27 at halftime.

Senior forward Matt Dorr tallied a season-high 16 points in the effort, two shy of his career high, while junior point guard Darian Norris was the only other Torero in double figures on the night with 14 points and a team-best four rebounds. Pepperdine's Lorne Jackson scored a game-high 26 points for the Waves, who shot 61.5% as a team in the second half to pull away from the Toreros.

While Pepperdine was able to control the second half, the first half remained relatively close as USD led by no more than seven points. The Waves opened the game with the first four points but the Toreros wasted no time in evening the score as Dorr and Chris Manresa scored on back-to-back plays. USD took the a 6-4 lead on a Dorr jumper at the 16:45 mark and held the lead until Pepperdine rallied back to take a 10-9 advantage with 12:36 remaining in the half. Both teams exchanged baskets until the Toreros wrestled the lead back with 9:35 to play, up 17-15 and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the half.

Coming out after halftime it was all Pepperdine as the Waves put together an 18-5 run that gave them a 45-34 edge at the 12:14 mark. USD whittled the lead to eight with 7:18 left when Ken Rancifer sank a free throw, but from that point on Pepperdine didn't look back, scoring 21 points in the final seven minutes to wrap the game up.

The Toreros were outscored in the paint 22-8 on the night while also struggling to convert second chance opportunities, in which the Waves held a 9-4 advantage.

USD returns to the court this Saturday, January 8th, when they travel to Loyola Marymount for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff with the Lions.