SAN DIEGO – After trailing by as many as 17, the San Diego men's basketball team (9-7, 2-1 WCC) mounted a thrilling comeback to defeat Portland (9-7, 0-1 WCC) in overtime, 68-63.
 
Senior forward Marcellus Earlington led the Toreros with 21 points and 10 rebounds, including 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
 
Freshman Wayne McKinney III compiled 14 points, a career-high eight rebounds, and three steals in the win. All 14 of his points came in the second half and overtime.
 
Junior Yavuz Gultekin notched his second double-double of the season, ending with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He grabbed six offensive rebounds, including three in the overtime period.
 
San Diego improves to 9-7 (2-1 WCC) on the season, and will remain home to face LMU on Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Portland made four straight field goals, including two triples, to take an early 10-4 lead. The Pilots later used a 9-0 run for a 19-5 advantage.
• Shortly after, the road team went on a 6-0 spurt to go ahead 25-8. Portland made 11 of its first 16 shots, including 3-of-4 from deep.
• Back-to-back jumpers from Gultekin and five points from Earlington shrunk the deficit to eight.
• A late 6-0 run and four straight made shots from USD cut the Portland lead to five with less than a minute to play. The Pilots connected on a running jumper with time running out to take a 37-30 lead at halftime.
• McKinney hit back-to-back triples, came up with a steal and an and-one layup to tie the game. The run got up to 9-0, and USD took a 45-41 lead with 13:03 left.
• The USD lead got up to six after a dunk from Earlington.
•  After Portland cut the deficit to two, Bryce Monroe came up with a steal and layup with 4:16 to play.
• The Pilots regained the lead late in the second half with a 6-0 run, and Earlington answered with a layup to tie the game with 1:05 left.
• San Diego's shot at the regulation buzzer was just off, and the team went to overtime locked at 60-60.
• The Toreros outscored Portland 8-3 in the overtime period, as Gultekin registered four points and four rebounds. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Earlington went into double-figures for a team-leading 12^th time this season. He is averaging 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.
• McKinney went into double-figures for the third time this season, and increased his scoring average to 5.8. He leads the team with 14 steals.
• Gultekin went into double-figures for the fourth time this season, including three straight games.
• Terrell Brown-Soares ended with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor. He also blocked three more shots tonight, and is up to 37 on the season.
• San Diego held a 16-4 advantage in fast break points, and forced 16 turnovers.
• Each team had a 9-0 scoring run.
• Portland started the game 11-of-16 from the floor, and went 12-of-48 for the rest of the game.

UP NEXT
USD will host LMU on Saturday night at 6:00 PM. The teams have each won 52 games in the all-time series, with the Lions winning the last three.