SAN FRANCISCO – Olin Carter hit a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and
Isaiah Pineiro scored 28 points to lead San Diego to a dramatic 91-90 comeback victory in overtime at San Francisco on Thursday night in War Memorial Gymnasium.
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The Toreros (18-12, 7-8 WCC) erased a 10-point deficit in the final 3:33 of regulation, capped by a Carter III 3-pointer bank-shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
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Pineiro scored all nine of USD's points in overtime to seal the Toreros comeback victory.
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The win was USD's fourth straight against the Dons (21-8, 9-6 WCC).
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The Toreros were impressive down the stretch in regulation, scoring 12 points in the final 1:22. Carter III led the way by scoring 10 of those 12 points.
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Pineiro took over in overtime and outscored the Dons 9-8 in the extra period.
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Pineiro finished the game with a game-high 28 points – two shy of his career high. He also pulled down 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season and eighth in the past nine games.
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Isaiah Wright added 24 points – his most since Dec. 23 and one shy of his season high of 25. Carter III finished with 16 points.
It was a game filled with ups-and-downs, big momentum swings, 11 lead changes, and featured a little bit of everything.
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The Toreros started hot in the first half, shooting 59 percent from the field and 63 percent (5-of-8) from behind the arc. Pineiro dropped 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Wright added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the half.
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Despite the hot start, the Toreros were unable to pull away from the Dons early as USF hit its first seven 3-pointers of the night and were 7-of-9 in the first half. The proficiency from deep kept the Dons within striking distance early. Charles Minlend led USF on the night with 22 points.
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The Toreros finished the half on a 15-6 run and hit six of their final seven shots to take 41-36 lead into halftime.
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USD saw its advantage disappear early in the second half as USF opened on a 12-4 run to take the lead, 48-47.
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The Toreros ran into foul trouble early in the second half as well with Pineiro, Wright, Carter and
Alex Floresca all playing with three fouls with 11:42 to play. Pineiro, Wright and Carter all had four fouls with 6:50 remaining in regulation.
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Midway through the second half, USF had attempted more free throws in the second half (18) than the Toreros had attempted in the entire game (16).
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The Dons took their largest lead of the night 68-58 with 6:50 to play and led by that much as late as 3:33 remaining in regulation.
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The Toreros chipped away at the deficit and closed the final 3 1/2 minutes on a 17-7 run.
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With USD trailing 77-70, Carter III took over the final 1:22 beginning with a layup to cut the deficit to five.
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The Toreros were gifted two free throws and a possession when the Dons Frankie Ferrari threw a blatant elbow that connected with the side of
Finn Sullivan's head with 55 seconds on the clock. Ferrari was charged with a flagrant one and Sullivan knocked down the free throws to cut USD's deficit to 78-74.
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Carter III delivered another layup before knocking down a tough 3-pointer with a defender in his face with nine seconds on the clock to pull the Toreros to within 81-79.
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The Toreros fouled Ferrari and he made one of two. Carter III knocked down the buzzer-beating 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
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USF jumped out to a five-point lead midway through the overtime period but Pineiro finished the game on a 6-0 run to seal the 91-90 victory for the Toreros.
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USD will look to continue its momentum as it concludes its regular season Saturday at BYU at 6 p.m. PT. Â
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