SAN DIEGO – Junior guard Wayne McKinney III scored a tied-for-game-high 19 points on Thursday night, but San Diego men's basketball fell to San Francisco by an 83-63 margin as West Coast Conference play continued at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  

The Coronado High School graduate was 8-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc as he matched USF's leading scorer Jonathan Mogba, who also recorded 19 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists.  

The Dons (13-4, 2-0 WCC) outscored the Toreros (10-8, 0-3 WCC), 50-20 in the paint as both junior center Steven Jamerson II and freshman forward Jimmy Oladokun Jr. got into foul trouble before Jamerson II fouled out.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Jamerson II opened the scoring on a two-foot layup in the paint before San Francisco scored nine consecutive points. McKinney III ended that run with a six-foot floater.  
• During the first five minutes, the Dons shot 71% (5-of-7) from the floor, compared to USD's 43% (3-of-7) as USF opened with a 13-7 lead. 
• USF extended its lead into double digits before a couple of buckets by junior forward PJ Hayes, two Jamerson II free throws, and a jumper by McKinney III cut the deficit down to six, 32-26, with five minutes remaining in the first half. 
• The score remained at 34-26 for more than two minutes as both teams could not find the bucket heading into the final media timeout of the opening half. 
• Hayes scored five straight Torero points — including a stepback three from the corner —  to once again cut the Dons' lead back to six, 37-31, with 1:49 left. 
• USF went into the half up a dozen, 43-31, as a result of finishing the first 20 minutes on an 8-2 run. 
• The Dons scored the first six points of the second half before McKinney III got USD on the board with a driving layup. 
• Out of the first media timeout, McKinney III recorded his second steal of the night and found freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr, who drove ahead for a driving layup before making the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play.  
• That was part of a 10-3 run that cut the lead down to 10 with 13:39 left in the game as freshman guard Dragos Lungu recorded a layup in transition. 
• San Francisco then went on an 8-0 run to grow its lead back up to 18, prompting San Diego to call a timeout with 9:35 remaining in regulation. 
• The Toreros ended the Dons' run on a bucket by McKinney III that was followed by a three-pointer by Patton Jr. that saw him get fouled and complete the four-point play to cut the deficit back down to 12 with 7:46 left. 
• USD pulled back within single digits, 64-55, when Jamerson II recorded an offensive rebound and found McKinney III from beyond the arc with six minutes left in the game. 

TORERO TIDBITS 

• Thursday night marked the second straight start for Patton Jr., who scored 16 points for a second consecutive contest as he recorded his seventh double-digit scoring performance of the season.
• Jamerson II, who totaled six points and five rebounds, fouled out for just the second time this season and for the first time since the Toreros faced Utah State in Logan (December 6). 
• McKinney III recorded double-digit points for a ninth consecutive game. He has now shot 50% or better in five of his last six games.
• Hayes scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting,including 3-of-9 from three-point range. He has now scored in double figures in six of his last eight games. 
• After scoring two points against San Francisco on Thursday, junior guard Deuce Turner is now just nine away from reaching 500 career points at the NCAA Division I level.
• San Diego's 90.9 free throw percentage (10-for-11) on Thursday night is a season-high against Division I competition (the Toreros shot 91.7% from the line against NAIA Westcliff on December 31), and marked a 37.1% improvement from last Saturday's 53.8% (7-for-13) free throw shooting performance at No. 24 Gonzaga.
• A Torero has either achieved or matched the scoring high in each of USD's last five contests.

THEY SAID IT

• Head coach Steve Lavin on how his team, primarily the younger players, have performed to begin WCC play:
  • "It's a crash course for our younger players. The margin for error is razor-thin in conference play, whether you're on the road or at home. I still really like the promise that this team possesses and has demonstrated with stretches of brilliant play."
• Junior guard Wayne McKinney III on how USD needs into improve as conference play continues:
  • "We just have to find a way to cut those (turnovers) down…they had a lot of easy buckets today. So if we take away those two (aspects for our opponents), I feel like we're gonna be just fine."

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action this weekend, when they remain at home to continue WCC play by hosting Pepperdine in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off against the Waves on Saturday night is set for 7:00 p.m.