PALO ALTO, Calif. — Senior guard
Deven Dahlke tied his career high with 11 points on Sunday evening as four total Toreros scored in double figures, but San Diego men's basketball (6-3, 0-0 WCC) suffered a 88-64 loss to Stanford (4-4, 0-0 Pac-12) at Maples Pavilion.
Dahlke shot 4-for-8 from the field and made a trio of three-pointers as he scored for the first time this season and notched his most points in a single game since February 23, 2023.
The Toreros were within single digits of the Cardinal with 14:55 remaining but could not overcome a barrage of threes from Stanford, which made 11 baskets from beyond the arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stanford started Sunday's game off strong, draining a pair of early three-pointers to take a 6-0 lead.
- Junior center Steven Jamerson II got San Diego on the board a little under three minutes into the contest with a slam dunk, then freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr. cut the deficit to two with a hook shot, sending the Toreros to the first media timeout trailing 6-4.
- The Cardinal pulled away as the first half unfolded, creating a 13-point, 30-17 lead with a flurry of threes.
- Stanford added on in the period's final minutes and took a 43-27 advantage into the intermission.
- A layup from junior guard PJ Hayes, a corner three from Dahlke, and another dunk from Jamerson II helped USD come out of the break hot, cutting the deficit to single digits at 43-34.
- Freshman forward Jimmy Oladokun Jr. kept it a nine-point game later on with a driving layup that moved the score to 49-40, but Stanford immediately responded with a surge of points to move ahead by a 59-42 margin at the second half's under-12 media timeout.
- A three-minute San Diego scoring drought as the game wound down allowed Stanford to make it a 22-point, 83-61 game with two minutes remaining.
- The Toreros were held without a field goal for Sunday's final six minutes and eventually suffered a 88-64 defeat to the Cardinal.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Junior guard Deuce Turner shot 5-for-11 from the field and made a pair of threes as he tallied a team-high 12 points.
- Freshman guard Dragos Lungu recorded 11 points, followed by junior guard Wayne McKinney III, who had 10.
- McKinney III, Oladokun Jr., and Jamerson II all were tied for USD's team high with five rebounds apiece.
- Freshman forward David Simon — who missed the first eight games of San Diego's 2023-2024 season due to injury — made his college debut on Sunday night and totaled two minutes.
THEY SAID IT - HEAD COACH STEVE LAVIN POSTGAME
"We need to learn to play through physicality and teams that have size. and that's a valuable lesson," said Lavin. "There were a number of lessons learned today — like how important the start to a game is. We spotted them an early lead, and our sense of urgency and our transition defense wasn't at the level it needs to be, and that led to the open threes. This team is learning to win on the road against quality teams, and it's different than playing well at home, or at a neutral site."
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UP NEXT
The Toreros will remain on the road this week, traveling to Logan, Utah for a non-conference matchup against Utah State. Tip-off opposite the Aggies on Wednesday night at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is set for 6:00 p.m. PST.
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