Dec. 15, 2012
Final Stats | Photo Gallery
(San Diego, CA) - The USD Toreros dropped a 72-56 decision to the 15th-ranked SDSU Aztecs at Viejas Arena this evening. Senior forward Ken Rancifer scored a game-high 16 points but it wasn't enough as the long and athletic Aztecs won their 8th straight game to improve to 8-1 on the year. The Toreros, who also received double-digit performances from Chris Manresa (11 points, 7 rebounds) and Christopher Anderson (11 points), saw their season record even up at 6-6.
The Toreros played well out of the gates and held leads on six different times in the first half with the last coming at 18-16 with 10:16 to go on a Mike Davis (9 points) layup. Five straight Aztec buckets over the next 4:21, including the last two being three-pointers by Chase Tapley, gave SDSU a 28-18 advantage with 5:55 to go. The Toreros would get within six points at 32-26 on a Mike Davis bucket, but the Aztecs would close out the half 7-0 run and 39-26 intermission lead.
In the second half the Aztecs would build their lead to as many as 22 points (59-37) with 9:29 to go. The closest USD would get down the stretch was 14 points at 70-56 on a Christopher Anderson layup with 1:19 to go. The win was the Aztecs seventh straight in the City Championship series. Tapley scored a team-high 15 points for the Aztecs with Jamaal Franklin (14 points, 8 rebounds) and DeShawn Stephens (11 points) also reaching double digits.
USD held their own on the boards as SDSU held a slim 31-30 in that department, but USD managed to shoot just 38.3% from the field (23-60) while SDSU converted 52.0% (26-50). USD received just 9 points off the bench with Mike Davis accounting for 7 of those points.
The Toreros head into finals week and does not hit the hardwood again until next Saturday, Dec. 22nd, when they play Oregon State at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
