SAN DIEGO – A hot start by #1 Gonzaga coupled with a slow offensive outing in the early going put San Diego in an early hole it was unable to climb out of as the Toreros fell to the nation's top-ranked team, 94-50, on Thursday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
USD (7-11, 0-3 WCC) lost its third in a row after the Zags (17-1, 3-0 WCC) opened the game 9-of-12 from the field and went on to establish a 20-point lead nine minutes in. The Toreros, meanwhile, had one field goal in their first 12 attempts and committed six early turnovers.
The Toreros went down 31-10 at the 8:12 mark in the first half and never cut the deficit below 20 throughout the remainder of the night.
The loss was the Toreros' third in three attempts against the nation's No. 1 team in program history.
USD was out-shot 48.6% to 32.8% in the game. The Toreros bounced back from a slow first half (23.1%) by shooting 40% (14-of-35) in the second.
Braun Hartfield,
Yauhen Massalski and
Jared Rodriguez led USD with nine points apiece. Hartfield had eight of his points in the second half while Massalski had eight of his nine points in the first half – and eight of USD's first 14 points – before fouling out of the game in the second. Rodriguez was USD's top shooter as he was 4-of-6 from the field, including 1-of-2 from three-point range.
Hartfield led the team in rebounds for the fifth time this year by hauling in seven boards.
USD will continue its two-game homestand on Saturday when it takes on Pepperdine. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
NOTES
USD held Gonzaga without a basket for five minutes in the early part of the second half and forced it into three turnovers. The Bulldogs committed 14 turnovers in the game (USD had 19).
The Toreros have hosted the nation's top-ranked team in San Diego three times in program history. In addition to Thursday, USD faced No. 1 Gonzaga in 2017 and No. 1 Kansas in 1995.
Of the 11 Toreros who logged minutes, 10 scored a point.
Massalski had six rebounds, a block and an assist to go with his team-high nine points.
