SAN DIEGO – Shooting 52.5 percent from the floor, Santa Clara (23-8, 11-5 WCC) defeated the University of San Diego men's basketball team (11-18, 4-11 WCC) in the regular season finale, 81-63.
 
Fifth year guard Marcellus Earlington led the Toreros with 17 points and seven rebounds, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
 
Fifth year guard Jase Townsend added 11 points (4-4 FT) and four rebounds in the loss.
 
Sophomore guard Deuce Turner registered nine points, while sophomore guard Wayne McKinney compiled seven with two assists.
 
USD finishes the regular season at 11-19 (4-12 WCC) on the season, and will face No. 8 Portland in the first round of the WCC Tournament on Thursday.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• McKinney ended a 5-0 run for Santa Clara to start the game with a mid-range jumper.
• San Diego missed 10 straight shots, allowing the Broncos to extend its lead to 21-8 with a 10-0 run. Lynch knocked down a triple from the wing to bring it back to a 10-point game.
• Santa Clara responded with another 10-0 run, holding USD off the board for 4:38 for a 31-11 advantage.
• Each team scored 10 points over the last 2:44 of the first half. The Broncos took a 41-21 lead into the locker room.
• Dominic Muncey grabbed an offensive rebound and found Townsend at the top of the key for a triple. With 16:15 left, USD trailed 49-29.
• Deuce Turner scored six straight points for USD in less than a minute, bringing the deficit to 19.
• Late in the second half, USD registered a 6-0 run, including a backdoor cut from McKinney to Jawara to make it 76-57.
• Turner knocked down three free throws at 1:45 for the last points of the game.

 
TORERO TIDBITS

• Townsend scored in double figures for the 19^th time in 25 games.
• Earlington scored in double figures for the 11^th straight game.
• Santa Clara held a 27-1 advantage in fast breaks.
• The Broncos scored 16 points off of 11 USD turnovers.
• Lynch improved his three-point percentage to a team-best 50% (17-34).
• Steven Jamerson II grabbed six rebounds. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 69.6% (16-23).
• After serving the last three years as a manager, senior Patrick Gallagher played 2:31 and grabbed a rebound.

 
UP NEXT
USD will be the No. 9 seed at the WCC Championships in Las Vegas. The Toreros will face No. 8 Portland in the first round on Thursday at 6 PM. The Pilots won both games in the regular season, 88-83 and 80-61.