SAN DIEGO — San Diego men's basketball (1-0, 0-0 WCC) on Monday night erased a 19-point deficit to earn a hard-fought comeback win over Sonoma State in its season opener, taking down the Seawolves by a 68-64 margin at the Jenny Craig Pavilion before a crowd of 894.

Local talent Wayne McKinney III (Coronado High School) led USD with 16 points, and was followed by transfer PJ Hayes and junior Deuce Turner, who both tallied 13 of their own.

Freshmen Dragos Lungu and Kevin Patton Jr. rounded out the Toreros' scoring with 11 points apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sonoma State opened up Monday night's game in strong fashion, racing to an early 25-6 advantage.
• Dragos Lungu helped USD chip away with a fastbreak layup, cutting the deficit to 13 after he was fouled on the play and made the ensuing free throw.
• Wayne McKinney hit the Toreros' first three pointer of the evening with 2:16 remaining in the half, moving the score to 34-20 in favor of the Seawolves. USD trailed by a 36-24 margin at the break.
• PJ Hayes got San Diego going as the second half began with a three of his own, then McKinney brought the Toreros back within single digits at 38-29 by making a fastbreak layup.
• Sonoma State's lead dwindled to seven after Hayes made good on a second-chance layup to move the score to 40-33. 
• Kevin Patton Jr. then capitalized off a Seawolves turnover and made a layup to send USD to the second half's under-16 media timeout trailing by just four.
• Patton Jr. hammered an emphatic dunk at the 13:46 mark, pulling the Toreros back within two at 45-23.
• Dragos Lungu tied it a minute later with a second-chance driving layup, knotting the score at 45-45.
• Hayes stayed hot and made a clutch go-ahead three-pointer with 10:48 to go in the game, giving his team its first advantage of the evening at 48-46.
• The San Diego defense kept the Seawolves quiet as the second half got underway, preventing them from making a field goal for the first nine-plus minutes of the period.
• USD had a two-point, 50-48 advantage at the under-eight media timeout, a lead that swelled to 58-50 after Lungu got a friendly roll on a three-pointer and Deuce Turner drained one of his own.
• Sonoma State climbed back within two down the stretch but a quartet of clutch free throws from Hayes and Dominic Muncey in the game's final seconds ensured the Seawolves got no closer, earning the Toreros a 68-64 win in their season opener.

TORERO TIDBITS

• McKinney III was 2-for-5 from the arc and made all six of his free throws on Monday night.
• Hayes was 2-for-7 shooting threes in his San Diego debut and was 3-for-4 from the line.
• Patton Jr. had a game-high eight rebounds that were split evenly — four on defense and four on offense.
• San Diego's shooting from the field improved by more than 20 percent in the second half, and its three-point percentage went up by more than 10 percent after halftime
• USD got 37 points off the bench on Monday, scored 21 points from turnovers, and added 13 points on second chances.
• The Toreros out-scored the Seawolves 44-28 in the second half.

UP NEXT
San Diego will remain at home on Wednesday night to host Jackson State. Tipoff at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m.