LAS VEGAS – Isaiah Wright scored a game-high 22 points but it was not enough as San Diego's remarkable postseason run came to an end with a 69-62 defeat against Saint Mary's in the WCC Tournament Semifinals on Monday night at the Orleans Arena.
 
Wright hit a season-high five 3-pointers to lead an inspired Toreros (21-14) effort in their fourth game in five days.
 
After trailing the entire first half, the Toreros tied the game early in the second half 41-41 on a jumper by Olin Carter III with 16:02 to play. USD took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Wright with 12:49 remaining.
 
The Toreros held a lead or were tied until the Gaels Malik Fitts hit one of two free throws with 6:56 remaining to put his team up, 53-52. SMC would remain in front the remainder of the game.
 
USD made it a one-possession game twice in the final 1:20 but could not get the shots needed to fall down the stretch, closing the game 2-of-6 from the field. The Toreros had a pair of good looks from behind the arc with under a minute to play but could not get either shot to drop to close the gap on the Gaels (21-11).
 
It was a tough way to end the tournament for the Toreros, which produced the following accomplishments over the past five days.

• Won USD's first WCC Tournament game since 2013 with a 67-47 victory against Portland (March 7).
• Secured USD's second consecutive 20-win season with a 62-45 victory against Santa Clara (March 8) – the first time the Toreros have produced back-to-back 20-win seasons as a Division-I program.
• Won three games in the WCC Tournament since the 2007-08 season with an 80-57 victory against BYU (March 9).
• Produced the most wins in a single season (21) since the 2007-08 season (22).

Wright was excellent throughout the night on both ends of the floor. He finished with four rebounds and an assist to go along with his 22 points.
 
Isaiah Pineiro carried the Toreros in the first half, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the opening period. He had a tough second half, scoring four points on 2-of-7 shooting, but pulled down a team-best five rebounds to finish the night with a team-high seven.
 
Carter III contributed nine points and three rebounds, while Alex Floresca chipped in eight points and three boards.
 
For as well as the Toreros played, the Gaels were just a little better in each category. USD shot 45 percent on the night, including 48 percent in the second half, but the Gaels connected at 53 percent on the night and 52 percent in the second half.
 
The Gaels controlled the paint, outscoring the Toreros 40-18 near the hoop and outrebounding USD 30-26. Jordan Ford led SMC with 21 points and Fitts added 19.