SAN DIEGO – Finn Sullivan scored a career-high 25 points and San Diego cut an 18-point deficit down to one before falling to Pepperdine 85-78 on Saturday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
USD (7-12, 0-4 WCC) trailed 45-27 four minutes into the second half, but sparked by a Joey Calcaterra three-pointer, the Toreros scored 24 of the next 31 points to make it a one-point disadvantage at 52-51 with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Waves (8-9, 1-2 WCC), though, used six second-half three-pointers to help hand the Toreros their fourth-straight loss.
 
The Toreros had 33 points off the bench, led by the personal-best 25 from Sullivan. The sophomore was 10-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three, to lead all USD scorers. He also had five assists and three rebounds.
 
Braun Hartfield and Alex Floresca joined Sullivan in double-figures as Hartfield had 17 points to go with his six boards while Floresca had 13 to fall one short of his season-high.
 
The Waves had a pair of 20-point scorers in Kameron Edwards (23) and Colbey Ross (22). The two combined for seven of Pepperdine's 11 three-pointers, which tied the most allowed by USD in a game this season.
 
While Pepperdine was 55% from long distance, USD made all seven of its three-pointers in the second half, ignited by Calcaterra's run-inducing trey at the 15:23 mark. The improved three-point shooting allowed USD to finish 17-of-32 from the field in the second (53.1%).
 
The Waves outshot USD, though, 47.2% to 42.2% for the game.
 
Both sides combined to go 4-of-20 to start the game and were tied at 12-12, but Pepperdine made seven of its next 10 shots and pulled away from the Toreros at 32-18. USD had the rebounding advantage in the first half, 20-16, but it struggled from the field, going 10-of-32, and entered halftime down 35-24.
 
Despite the slow offensive start, USD bounced back by draining eight straight shots over a five-and-a-half minute stretch to pull within one at 52-51. Sullivan had 10 points during the run.
 
Pepperdine answered, though, with an 8-0 run that turned the score to 60-52 before Sullivan interrupted with a driving lay-up. The runner by Sullivan was two of five straight points by USD that flipped it back to a three-point game, 60-57, with 7:10 left.
 
The Waves staved off the threat with a trio of three-pointers to make it a double-digit deficit for the Toreros once again. USD was unable to claw any closer than six points in the closing minutes as Pepperdine converted 10 of its last 14 free throws. The Waves were 24-of-32 from the charity stripe in the game.
 
USD returns to the road for a two-game road trip next week. The Toreros face BYU on Thursday in Provo (6 p.m. PT tip-off) followed by Portland in Oregon on Saturday (7 p.m.).
 
 
NOTES
Sullivan's 25 points tied Braun Hartfield for the most scored by a Torero this season.
 
Sullivan's 25-point, 5-assist effort was only the fourth time in the last 10 seasons a Torero turned in the feat. Isaiah Pineiro did it three times last year.
 
USD's 78 points were its most against a Division I opponent since December 2, 2019 vs. UIC.
 
The Toreros have allowed 11 three-pointers in two of their last three games.