SAN DIEGO – San Diego earned its first victory at San Diego State since 2000 behind a strong second half and a team-high 21 points by
Isaiah Pineiro on Wednesday night in Viejas Arena.
The Toreros (7-2) outscored the Aztecs, 47-28, in the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and improve to 2-2 against SDSU over the past four seasons.
After a rough start from 3-point range in the first half that included a 0-for-11 clip, the Toreros caught fire from deep early in the second half. Five different Toreros connected on 3-pointers in the first 5:33 of the half, capped by
Isaiah Wright who gave USD its largest lead of the game to that point, 45-42.
The Toreros shot 56 percent from the field (14-25) and 54 percent (7-13) from 3-point range during the second half.
Along with Pineiro's 21 points,
Isaiah Wright added 18 and
Olin Carter III contributed 10.
Alex Floresca and
Tyler Williams dished out four assists apiece to lead all Toreros.
The Toreros were excellent defensively and on the boards throughout the night. USD out-rebounded SDSU, 32-30, and held a 10-6 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Devin Watson led the Aztecs (5-3) with 22 points but the Toreros held SDSU's other top scorers Matt Mitchell to 13 points and Jalen McDaniels to 12.
Finn Sullivan led the rebounding effort with seven, followed by Pineiro with five, and Floresca, Wright and
Akim-Jamal Jonah with four apiece. Wright was pesky defensively and logged a game-high three steals.
The Toreros needed big contributions from its bench with starter
Yauhen Massalski still out due to injury, and with multiple players getting in foul trouble early in the first and second halves.
The bench delivered and outscored SDSU's bench, 10-6. Sullivan provided a spark in the second half, knocking down an early triple and converting a pair of difficult contested layups late. He led the Toreros with seven rebounds.
Jonah provided size in the paint and grabbed four boards in eight minutes of action. The Toreros held a 28-18 advantage in points in the paint on the game.
Emanuel Hylton earned his first minutes of the season and played well defensively, and
Joey Calcaterra knocked down an important free throw late to help seal the decision.
The Toreros will look to continue their momentum Sunday at 1 p.m. PT when they play host to CSUN. USD will have a chance to match its best start in program history of 8-2 with a victory, after setting the program-best mark last season.
