SAN DIEGO—Transfer Frankie Hughes put up 22 points in his home debut, but San Diego could not secure the comeback victory in a, 79-72 loss to Nevada on Monday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The Toreros (0-2) trailed by as many as 12 points early in the second half, before storming back on a 21-4 run to take a five-point lead, 57-52, with 9:27 remaining. Hughes led the charge for USD, accounting for 16-straight points in the run.
 
However, the Wolf Pack (5-2) answered with a run of their own, outscoring the Toreros 12-5 down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Joey Calcaterra also reached double digit scoring, finishing with 12 points, while Ben Pyle and Josh Parrish added nine and eight points respectively. The Toreros struggled early and shot 38 percent from the field compared to 46 percent from the Wolf Pack.
 
San Diego played tough defense in the first half, forcing seven turnovers and holding Nevada to 41 percent from the field. However, the Toreros also struggled to land shots on the other end shooting just 30 percent and 2-for-14 from beyond the arc. USD trailed the Wolf Pack 31-26 at the half.
 
The scoring drought continued for USD to start the second half, falling behind 48-36. A made three-pointer from Finn Sullivan sparked the Torero offense and then Hughes caught fire, hitting four threes and going 4-for-4 from the line.
 
USD led by as many as five, late into the second half but could not break away. The teams traded the lead up to a 67-67 tie before the Wolf Pack pulled away for good.
 
Guards Desmond Cambridge and Grant Sherfield paced the Nevada offense, finishing with 27 and 25 points respectively, including 9-for-16 from three-point range.
 
Yauhen Massalski and Vladimir Pinchuk led the Toreros off the glass with six boards each and USD outrebounded Nevada, 37-35. San Diego collected seven second chance points, compared to Nevada's five, but the Pack was strong in the paint, outscoring USD 22-16.
 
Massalski added four blocks on the night, bringing his career total to 128 and putting him one shy of fourth-place in San Diego's all-time record book.
 
Next up, San Diego will hit the road for a midweek matchup at Cal Poly on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. PT.