SAN DIEGO – Led by four in double figures, No. 23 Saint Mary's (23-6, 11-3 WCC) defeated the San Diego men's basketball team (14-14, 7-8 WCC) on Thursday, 60-46.
Senior
Jase Townsend led USD in scoring for the second consecutive game, ending with 13 points on 5-8 from the floor.
Freshman
Wayne McKinney III added eight points, five rebounds, and two steals in the loss.
Junior
Yavuz Gultekin registered six points and a team-high eight rebounds.
San Diego drops to 14-14 (7-8 WCC) on the season, and will host San Francisco for the regular season finale on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- McKinney knocked down an early triple to put USD up 5-2, but Saint Mary's answered with a 12-2 run.
- Back-to-back buckets from Josh Parrish, including a steal and layup, brought the USD deficit to nine.
- The Gaels ended the first half on an 11-4 run, and led 37-20 at the break.
- San Diego opened the second half on a 7-3 spurt, coming up with multiple defensive stops.
- After being held to three points over the first 4:40 of the second half, Saint Mary's responded with a 9-2 run to take a 20-point lead.
- The Toreros battled back with a 10-0 run late in the second half, including four from Gultekin.
- San Diego made its last six shots of the game, but eventually fell short.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Townsend went into double figures for the 11th time this season, which is third on the team.
- Parrish ended 3-for-4 from the floor with two blocks. McKinney was 3-for-5.
- San Diego was 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line.
- USD held a 12-10 advantage in bench points.
- Saint Mary's scored 36 points in the paint.
- The Toreros scored 12 fast break points and held SMC to one.
UP NEXT
San Diego will face San Francisco on Saturday at 2:00 PM in the final game before the WCC Tournament. The Dons hold a 48-40 lead in the all-time series, including four straight wins.
