SAN DIEGO — Winners of three of its last four games and eight of its first nine home contests this season, San Diego men's basketball (9-5, 0-0 WCC) is set to wrap up its non-conference schedule on Sunday afternoon with a matchup against Westcliff University (3-6, 2-2 Cal Pac) in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Tip-off against the Warriors is set for 1:02 p.m. The matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin and Braden Surprenant on the call.

Live statistics for all San Diego home games in 2023-2024 will be available on USDToreros.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST WESTCLIFF
• Sunday afternoon will mark the first-ever meeting on the hardwood between San Diego and Westcliff, which is located in Irvine, California and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac).

LAST TIME OUT - Turner and McKinney III Score Career Highs in Loss to Fresno State
• 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 held strong to deal San Diego 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.

Notable:
• 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)." 

HOME SWEET HOME
• San Diego is 8-1 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion so far this season, and has notched home wins over Sonoma State, Jackson State, Le Moyne, Navy, Northern Colorado, Arizona State, Portland State, and South Dakota.

• USD's 8-0 start to its home schedule this year was its best since the 2018-2019 campaign, which saw the Toreros win each of their first nine home contests. 

COMEBACK KIDS
• San Diego has demonstrated considerable resilience early this season, overcoming at least a five-point deficit in all nine of its victories so far this season.

USD has rallied for a win after trailing by double digits on five occasions this year:

• 11/6/23 vs. Sonoma State (Trailed 25-6, won 68-64): 19-point deficit

• 11/17/23 vs. Le Moyne (Trailed 10-0, won 80-71): 10-point deficit

• 11/24/23 vs. Arkansas State (Trailed 52-36, won 71-57): 16-point deficit

• 12/9/23 vs. Arizona State (Trailed 23-11, won 89-84): 12-point deficit

• 12/21/23 vs. South Dakota (Trailed 26-12, won 69-66): 14-point deficit

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
• Depth has been a strength for USD this season, with head coach Steve Lavin utilizing seven different starting lineups and 12 different second-half starting lineups through 14 games.

• San Diego's second-half starting lineup has been different from its first-half starters on 10 occasions this season, with both lineups being the same in only four games so far.

• Of the 13 players who have seen minutes for USD this season, 10 have found themselves in a first or second-half starting lineup.

• Eleven different Toreros have accumulated over 100 total minutes in the 2023-2024 campaign, with 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes per game, seven averaging 15 or more, and seven averaging 20 or more.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Six San Diego freshmen (Dragos Lungu, Kevin Patton Jr., Jimmy Oladokun Jr., Keyon Kensie, Santiago Trouet, and Joey Chammaa) made their college debut on November 6th, joined by transfer PJ Hayes, who appeared in his first game as a Torero after spending three seasons at Division II Black Hills State in South Dakota.

• In total, eight of the Toreros' 17 players have 14 games of Division I experience or less.

• Junior Wayne McKinney III leads the USD roster with 75 Division I appearances, followed by Deuce Turner with 55, Deven Dahlke with 46, Dominic Muncey with 26, Steven Jamerson II with 20, Bendji Pierre with 15, and Neel Beniwal with 12.

A SIGNATURE VICTORY
• The Toreros' win over Arizona State on December 9th marks the first time San Diego has taken down a Pac-12 or power-five opponent since November 21st, 2018, when it beat Colorado in Boulder by a 70-64 margin.

YEAR TWO OF THE LAVIN ERA
• 2023-2024 marks head coach Steve Lavin's second season at the helm in San Diego after being hired in April of 2022.

• In 12 full seasons as a head coach, Lavin has accumulated a record of 248-171 (.591) with 10 postseason appearances.

• Prior to arriving at USD, he guided UCLA and St. John's to eight NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 years.

• A staple in college basketball for over three decades, Lavin is the 14th head coach in program history and the Toreros' seventh head coach since USD moved to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1979-80.

• Most recently, Lavin served as a national college basketball broadcaster for Fox Sports and CBS Sports. He previously worked with ESPN, ABC, and the Pac-12 Network.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wayne McKinney III | Junior | Guard | Coronado High School
• Leads USD in points per game (14.9), assists (41), steals (22), and made free throws (65)

• Sixty-five of his 209 total points so far in 2023 have come from the charity stripe and he is shooting 76% from the line this season

• Set a new career high with 22 points against Fresno State on December 29

• Spent the last three seasons at USD after graduating from nearby Coronado High School

Deuce Turner | Junior | Guard | Bucknell University
• Leads San Diego with 27 made three pointers so far this season

• 13.9 points per game and 194 total points in 2023-2024 both rank second on the USD roster

• Has recorded double-digit points in 11 of the Toreros' first 14 games this season

• Also recorded a career high in points (23) against Arizona State, and was pivotal in the Toreros' win over the Sun Devils

• Transferred to USD in 2022 from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania after spending time at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas

PJ Hayes | Senior | Forward | Black Hills State University
• Twenty-five made three-pointers so far this season are the second-most on the USD roster

• Ranks third for the Toreros in total points (122), and third in points per game (9.4)

• Recorded a career-high in points (23) on December 9th against Arizona State, making five threes to help propel San Diego past the Sun Devils

• Transferred to USD this season from Division II Black Hills State University in South Dakota

Kevin Patton Jr. | Freshman | Guard | Rancho Christian High School
• Leads USD in total rebounds (72), and blocks (21), and ranks second in rebounds per game (5.1)

• Is averaging 8.3 points per game and has five double-digit scoring performances so far in 2023

• Was named WCC Freshman of the Week for December 18 after accumulating 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and a steal in San Diego's victory over Portland State.

Steven Jamerson II | Junior | Center | Crespi Carmelite High School
• Has seen a gradual increase in minutes after returning from a preseason injury and already leads USD in rebounds per game (7.1) through seven games played (five starts)

• Has the third-highest field goal percentage on the Torero roster (50%) and is averaging 5.4 points per game

• Earned his first college double-double on December 15 against Portland State, notching 10 points while pulling in 10 rebounds

Jimmy Oladokun Jr. | Forward | Sierra Canyon High School
• Leads the Toreros in field goal percentage, shooting 51% so far this season (minimum seven attempts)

• Twenty-four offensive rebounds lead USD and his 56 total boards (4.3 RPG) rank second

• 10 blocks in 2023 rank third amongst his teammates