Final Stats

USD vs GCU Stats

USD vs GCU Stats

PHOENIX - Yauhen Massalski and Isaiah Pineiro scored 17 points apiece to lead San Diego to its fifth straight victory and remain unbeaten, defeating Grand Canyon, 72-62, Saturday evening.

The Toreros improved to 5-0 on the season and are off to their best start since the 2013-14 season.

Massalski did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 11 points to pace USD, while Pineiro took over in the second half, scoring 13 points to secure the victory.

"I'm extremely proud of our guys for showing great toughness and grinding out a win in a hostile environment." said head coach Lamont Smith. "Our defense the last nine minutes of the game was the difference."

Isaiah Wright continued to do it all for the Toreros and was one rebound shy of a triple-double. Wright contributed 16 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

It was an impressive night for USD's defense which held a Lopes (4-1) team that was averaging 75.8 points per game to 62 on the night. The Toreros limited Grand Canyon to one made field goal in the final 8:59 of the game.

Olin Carter III contributed 15 points and made back-to-back big shots down the stretch. With the Toreros holding slight 58-54 lead with 4:21 to play, Carter III hit a deep three-pointer from the center of the court to extend the lead to 61-54. He came back down the court during the next possession and finished a tough layup to put USD up 63-55.

Olin Carter III discussed battling back down the stretch to earn the victory.

The contest was a back-and-forth affair that featured 11 lead changes. The Toreros shot well, making 49.2 percent of their shots and went 9-14 from the free-throw line.

USD dealt with foul trouble throughout the second half with multiple players carrying three or four fouls early in the half. The Toreros bench was ready to answer the call and outscored the Lopes bench, 20-11.

The Toreros jumped out to an early 12-8 lead early in the first half and extended its lead to 29-20 with five minutes to play. However, the Lopes went on a 15-5 run to close the half and take a 35-34 lead into halftime.

Grand Canyon maintained its lead throughout the start of the second half but the Toreros consistently answered each Lopes bucket to keep pace. A Massalski layup at 10:32 erased the deficit and knotted the game at 49-49.

Pineiro threw down a dunk with 5:27 remaining in the half to give the Toreros a 55-54 lead and USD would not trail the remainder of the game. Pineiro provided the exclamation point on the victory by finishing an alley-oop in the final seconds of the game to secure the 72-62 victory.

The Toreros will look to continue its momentum when it returns home to take on San Diego State on Thursday at 8 p.m. PT.