SAN DIEGO – A second half comeback by the San Diego men's basketball team (13-11, 6-5 WCC) fell short against Santa Clara (16-8, 6-3 WCC) on Saturday, 79-66.
 
The Toreros trailed by as many as 23 late in the first half, and cut the deficit to 10 with 10:22 left in regulation. The Broncos kept their lead above 10 for the remainder of the contest.
 
Senior Marcellus Earlington led all scorers with 23 points (10-14 FG) and also led the team with eight rebounds.
 
Freshman Wayne McKinney added 14 points, including two triples and a season-high four steals.
 
Senior Jase Townsend registered seven points and three assists in the loss, while graduates Terrell Brown-Soares and Josh Parrish each scored six.
 
San Diego drops to 13-11 (6-5 WCC) on the season, and will travel to Saint Mary's on Thursday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling behind 10-6, Earlington buried back-to-back triples. A Brown-Soares and-one tied the game at 14-14.
• Earlington ended an 11-2 Santa Clara run with a driving layup. He went into double figures with 7:55 left in the first half.
• The Broncos immediately answered with a 7-0 run, and led 32-18 with 6:00 left.
• Another run from the road team, this time 12-0, put Santa Clara up 44-21 late in the first.
• Five straight points from McKinney and a triple from Earlington shrunk the deficit. At halftime, Santa Clara led 48-29.
• San Diego opened the second half on a 6-0 run to force a Santa Clara timeout.
• USD used another 6-0 run, including two McKinney layups early in the second half to crunch the deficit to 55-44.
• Josip Vrankic scored seven straight points for the Broncos to extend their lead to 70-55.
• San Diego shortened the gap with 3:41 left with an Earlington jumper, making it 75-64, but Santa Clara held on for the win. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Earlington went into double-figures for the 18^th time this season, and scored 20+ points for the sixth time this year. He ranks 11^th in the WCC with 13.8 PPG.
• Brown-Soares jumped up to fourth all-time with 57 blocks in a single season.
• McKinney scored in double figures for the seventh time this season. He leads the team with 24 total steals.
• San Diego made 7-of-15 three-point attempts, but just 3-of-6 free throws.
• Santa Clara won the rebounding battle, 43-28, and scored 18 points off of 16 USD turnovers.
• The Toreros outscored the opponent 37-31 in the second half.

UP NEXT
San Diego hits the road to face Saint Mary's on Thursday. The Gaels hold a 54-36 lead in the all-time series, including 14 straight wins.