SAN DIEGO – Junior guards Deuce Turner and Wayne McKinney III both set new career highs in points on Friday night as the Toreros rallied to erase yet another early deficit, but Fresno State (7-6, 0-0 MWC) held strong to deal San Diego men's basketball (9-3, 0-0 WCC) its first home loss of the season, a tough 71-67 decision in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

USD trailed by as many as nine as the game got started but clawed back to take a short-lived 19-18 lead before falling back behind by a four-point, 26-22 margin at the break. After chasing by as many as 12 in the second half, a pair of deep threes from Turner in the game's final seconds got San Diego back within two at 69-67, but the Bulldogs made 11 straight free throws in the contest's final 1:23 to seal the victory.

McKinney III recorded 10 of his team's 22 points in the first half and III shot 50% (10-for-20) from the field while making both of his three-point attempts en-route to 22 total points of his own on Friday. 

Turner scored 21 of his 25 points in the second period, going 6-for-6 from the line, 8-for-18 from the field, and 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.

The loss snapped an eight-game home win streak for San Diego. The Toreros' 8-0 run at home to begin their 2023-2024 home schedule marked USD's best start to a home slate since the 2018-2019 squad began 9-0 inside the JCP.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Fresno State began the game on a 7-2 run during the contest's first five minutes. USD responded by limiting the Bulldogs to two points during the next three minutes of play heading into the second media timeout, cutting the lead down to three, 9-6, with 11:55 remaining in the first half. 
• Despite scoring only nine points through the game's first 12 minutes, the Torero offense got going with a 10-0 run that lasted more than four minutes to take its first lead at 19-18 with 3:30 left in the opening half. 
• The Bulldogs surged back ahead as the period wound to a close and took a four-point, 26-22 lead into the intermission.
• McKinney III and junior forward PJ Hayes kept the Toreros within striking distance as the second half got underway, with Hayes knocking down an 18-foot jumper before the Bulldogs responded and took an eight-point lead.
• Fresno State used a 6-0 run that lasted 1:40 to take its biggest lead of the night at 42-30 with 13:21 remaining, prompting a Torero timeout.
• San Diego was able to turn things out with a 6-0 run of their own, taking more than three minutes off the clock to cut the 12-point deficit back down to six with 10 minutes left. 
• Turner, who left the game for a couple minutes in the second half due to an injury before returning, was able to get a bucket and a foul after checking back in.
• The Toreros forced a steal with their full-court pressure on the ensuing play, leading to a bucket by senior guard Deven Dahlke to cut the Bulldog lead to 50-43 with five minutes left in regulation.   
• Turner was key to the Toreros' comeback efforts down the stretch, making all three free throws after being fouled from beyond the arc with 3:42 remaining before getting his team back within four at 56-52 with a clutch layup at the 2:31 mark. 
• He stayed hot and knocked down back-to-back deep threes in the game's final moments to pull San Diego within two at 69-67, but USD got no closer and suffered its first home loss of the season.

TORERO TIDBITS 

• Turner's 25 points on Friday night were a career high and marked the most in a single game by any San Diego player so far this season. 
• McKinney III's 22 total points against Fresno State were also a career-high, and marked his sixth straight game of scoring in double figures and the fourth time in his last five games that he has shot 50% or better from the floor. 
• Junior center Steven Jamerson II recorded a team-high 10 rebounds and has grabbed double-digit boards in three of his last four games. 

THEY SAID IT

• Head Coach Steve Lavin on his players hanging tough despite facing early deficits:
  • "Their resilience, grit, and ability to fight back from deficits is an admirable trait, yet we also need to get out to better starts in games and not dig holes that will make it more difficult for us to win games. We are clearly improving as a team but naturally we still have a number of aspects to improve upon."
• McKinney III on Turner's 25-point, career-best performance:
  • "That's exactly the type of player he is, he's a very high-caliber player. I expect that from him, our teammates expect that. We weren't surprised that he (had this performance). He shows up every day in practice, he's a sharp shooter, he's an all-around player, he plays defense, he helps us get stops, he rebounds, and he's capable of hitting all those deep threes."
• Turner on how much USD's non-conference schedule has prepared it for WCC play:
  • "That's big. I don't think we had a stronger schedule last year going into it...so it's going to be encouraging for us to know that it's not going to be a big leap going into the league. Some of the stuff that we've seen, especially the athleticism and the size, we wouldn't know how to make adjustments and know how to deal with it (had we not had a robust non-conference schedule this season)." 

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Sunday (December 31), when they close-out non-conference play by hosting Westcliff University (NAIA) for a New Year's Eve matchup in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off against the Warriors is set for 1:00 p.m.