SAN DIEGO — Young talent led the way for San Diego men's basketball (6-2, 0-0 WCC) on Wednesday night as it took down Northern Colorado (3-4, 0-0 Big Sky), pushing the Toreros past the Bears by a 74-72 margin to keep them undefeated in the Jenny Craig Pavilion this season.

Freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr. paced USD with a career-high 17 points alongside six rebounds, four steals, and two assists. 

His standout performance was complemented by another impressive showing from freshman forward Jimmy Oladokun Jr., who tied his career high with 14 points and notched his first college double-double after grabbing 10 rebounds. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• San Diego started Wednesday night's game off fast, with freshman guard Dragos Lungu finding Oladokun Jr. for a slam dunk on the first play of the game. 
• The contest turned into a defensive battle after the early chaos, and neither team could find momentum on offense as the opening frame got underway.
• USD faced an early five-point deficit as the first half progressed, but managed to knot the score up at 18-18 at the five-minute mark by way of a beautiful contested three-pointer from Patton Jr. 
• A steal and jumper from junior guard Deuce Turner and a quick putback lay-up from Oladokun Jr. sent the Toreros to halftime with a one-point, 29-28 lead.
• Lungu and Oladokun Jr. teamed up once again to begin the second half, as a clean pass from Lungu found a sprinting Oladokun Jr. for his second dunk of the game. 
• The Toreros stretched their lead to nine with 6:21 remaining in the game when Patton Jr. buried a clutch three-pointer. 
• Northern Colorado pulled within one at 68-67 down the stretch but got no further after Turner knocked down a pair of clutch free throws and junior guard Dominic Muncey secured a clutch steal to seal the victory for San Diego.

TORERO TIDBITS

• The USD defense limited Northern Colorado to shooting 38% from the field, and 34% from three. 
• Patton Jr.'s big night included scoring seven straight points for the Toreros. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the line while shooting a strong 6-for-9 from the field. 
• Oladokun Jr.'s double-double helped USD outscore the Bears in the paint by a 38-28 margin.
• Junior center Steven Jamerson II scored two points and grabbed a rebound across seven minutes in his season debut. 
• San Diego is now 5-0 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion in the 2023-2024 season.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action this weekend, when they travel to Palo Alto, California for a non-conference matchup against Stanford. Tip-off on Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion is set for 3 p.m.