SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—San Diego secured its first win of the 2020-21 campaign with a 70-61 victory over Cal Poly on Wednesday afternoon at Mott Athletics Center.
 
The Toreros (1-2) shot 48 percent from the field, dominating the Mustangs (2-3) in the paint, 48-28 and on the fast break, 17-6.
 
Joey Calcaterra finished with a game-high, 18 points, in his third-straight double-digit game. The redshirt junior also matched his career high with seven rebounds, adding three steals and two blocks and a game-high four assists to a standout performance.
 
Josh Parrish also reached double-digit scoring, finishing the day with a season-high 16 points. Parrish added five rebounds, including four offensive boards.
 
Yauhen Massalski led the Toreros with 11 rebounds and three blocks—moving him into fourth place in the Torero record books with 131 career blocks.
 
The game got off to a hot start with the teams essentially matching each other shot-for-shot up to a, 22-21, USD lead with 9:35 left in the period. The Toreros then went on a 13-0 run to finally put space between them and the Mustangs, and led 39-26 at the break.
 
Calcaterra put up 12 of his 18 points to lead the Torero offense and USD shot 53 percent in the half.
 
It was all Cal Poly to start the second period, with the Mustangs outscoring USD 19-4 to pull ahead with 13:09 remaining. The Toreros answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead, behind a 10-point second half for Parrish.
 
The Mustangs pulled within five points with under a minute to go, but San Diego sank 4-for-4 from the line in the closing seconds to secure its first victory of the season.
 
San Diego won the battle off the boards, collecting 39 rebounds compared to 33 for Cal Poly and put up strong defensive numbers, collecting nine blocks and 10 steals on the day.
 
Cal Poly held the advantage beyond the arc, finishing 6-for-18 compared to 3-for-10 for USD. The Toreros moved the ball well, collecting 16 assists, while Cal Poly finished with nine. USD hit 82 percent (9-for-11) from the free throw line, compared to just 45 percent (5-for-11) for Cal Poly.
 
Up next, the Toreros will remain on the road to face UC Irvine in a rescheduled contest from earlier this season. USD will face the Anteaters on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. in Irvine, Calif.