MORAGA, Calif. – After a first half that was back-and-forth with 10 lead changes and eight ties, San Diego was outscored 54-29 in the second half of a 92-63 loss at Saint Mary's on Saturday at the University Credit Union Pavilion.
 
USD (9-20, 2-12 WCC) outshot the Gaels (23-6, 10-4 WCC) in the first half – 48.4% to 47.1% - but Saint Mary's defeated the Toreros for the 14th straight game thanks to an offense that shot 63.9% (23-of-36) and committed just one turnover in the final 20 minutes.
 
The Toreros, meanwhile, were 11-of-28 from the field (39.3%) in the second half and 0-of-5 from three.
 
Braun Hartfield led USD in scoring with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting (0-of-5 from three). The redshirt junior also had three rebounds and three assists, tied for the team-high.
 
Yauhen Massalski had nine of his 13 points in the second half and pulled in eight rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end. He also added two blocks.
 
Joey Calcaterra was the only other Torero to reach double-digits in scoring as Novato, California native scored 11 on 5-of-11 shooting.
 
USD led by seven with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, but a 13-2 run by the Gaels, in which they made five of their six shots, put the Toreros into a four-point deficit at halftime. USD attempted to halt the momentum after a 5-0 burst pulled the Gaels within two at 32-30, but Saint Mary's did not relent and carried the 38-34 advantage into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, both sides started the second half 4-of-5 from the field to keep the game within reach. Calcaterra had two of the Toreros' four baskets in the first four minutes but a Hartfield lay-up made it 45-42 three minutes into the second half.
 
However, after Saint Mary's had an attempt blocked by Marion Humphrey with 15:41 remaining, the Gaels went on to make 10 of their next 11 shots to open up a 22-point lead at 69-47 with 10 minutes to go. The Gaels converted nine straight shots – including four three-pointers – starting when Jordan Ford hit a jumper at the 14:18 mark.
 
Ford (22) joined his teammate Malik Fitts (27) with 20-point efforts in the game.
 
During the Saint Mary's second-half burst, USD was only 2-of-10 from the field.
 
The Toreros will continue to compete on the road as they will travel to Gonzaga for their final road contest of the regular season on Thursday, February 27 at 6 p.m.
 
 
NOTES
Massalski now has 122 blocks in his career. He trails Dondi Bell by seven (129, 1987-91) for fourth on USD's all-time list.
 
Saint Mary's was 10-of-22 from three-point range while USD was 1-of-13. In the first meeting this season on February 6, USD was 4-of-13 from long distance while the Gaels were 1-of-15.
 
The three turnovers by Saint Mary's were the fewest committed by a USD opponent this year, besting the previous figure of six set by LMU on January 2.
 
The nine turnovers by the Toreros were their fewest in a game since December 2 vs. UIC in the Boca Raton Beach Classic (8). USD did not commit its first turnover until the 7:39 mark in the first half.
 
The 44.1% field goal percentage by USD was its fourth best shooting performance in a WCC game this season.
 
The Toreros lost the rebounding battle, 35-31.
 
USD was outscored in the paint, 52-38.