SAN DIEGO – San Diego men's basketball on Saturday night lost a 105-63 decision to Gonzaga at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. 

The Bulldogs (13-5, 4-1 WCC) outrebounded the Toreros (10-10, 0-5 WCC), 51-29 and outscored USD 54-30 in the paint. 

San Diego was led by junior guard Wayne McKinney III, who scored 17 points and had a co-team high five rebounds. 

Two Toreros – sophomore guard Emmanuel Callas and freshman Josh Hecht – recorded their first career games with substantial minutes and both recorded their first college points.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• USD won the tip and after a missed basket, freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr. recorded a steal and found McKinney III in transition for a reverse layup to open the scoring. 
• After the first four minutes, the Toreros led 7-5, an advantage that was fueled by a three-pointer by junior forward PJ Hayes, who also collected a rebound on a missed free throw on the previous play. 
• Gonzaga then went on a 22-0 run that lasted nearly six minutes as it took a 33-9 lead with 8:25 remaining in the first half. 
• USD was able to cut the deficit with two-pointers from Emmanuel Callas and McKinney III as well as a three from Turner. 
• Heading into the final media timeout of the first half, the Toreros trailed 45-23 after Patton Jr. made a driving layup.  
• At the break, Gonzaga led 54-27 as USD was led by McKinney III, who had nine points. 
• After the Bulldogs scored the first three points of the second half, Hayes scored or assisted on the Toreros' next nine points to make the score 62-36 with 16:55 left in the game. 
• Over the next four minutes, Gonzaga was able to outscore San Diego 15-8 to record its largest lead of the night at 33 to take a 77-44 lead with 11:25 left in the game.   
• The Bulldogs then went on an 11-5 run to take an 88-49 lead with 7:49 remaining. 
• San Diego got buckets from Hecht and junior guard Dominic Muncey as well as both a two-pointer and a three-pointer from freshman guard Dragos Lungu as the clock reached under four minutes of play.

TORERO TIDBITS 

• San Diego's 10 turnovers on Saturday night is tied for its lowest mark this season (South Dakota, 12/21; Fresno State, 12/29).
• McKinney III's 17 points marked his 17th game this season scoring double figures. He played just 29 minutes, marking only the third time this season he has played less than 30 minutes in a game he has appeared in.
• Patton Jr., who was named West Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday, had seven points, a tied-for-team-high five rebounds, and a team-high five assists, which ties a career-high. He also added two steals and two blocks, and did not commit any turnovers. 
• After scoring five points against the Bulldogs, Turner is four points away from eclipsing 500 in his Division I career.  
• With 8:09 remaining in the first half, sophomore guard Emmanuel Callas recorded his first career college points with a driving layup. Callas missed the entire 2022-2023 season due to injury.
• Freshman guard Josh Hecht recorded his college minutes and first college points at the 6:41 mark of the second half, when he drained a three.
• Saturday night's attendance in the Jenny Craig Pavilion was a season-high 3,007.

THEY SAID IT

• Head Coach Steve Lavin on the difficulty of West Coast Conference play thus far:
  • "For our team, it's another lesson or the school of hard knocks. Four of our losses — twice against Gonzaga, St. Mary's and USF — are to teams that will be in this year's NCAA Tournament. So, we're getting more than any other team in the West Coast Conference the toughest early schedule. We can learn from that, so by the time conference tournament comes along, we've improved upon deficiencies that are exposed." 
• Freshman guard Josh Hecht on his college debut:
  • "I was just blessed to be able to (get on the court). Coach always talks about being opportunistic and just staying ready, and that's what I've implemented into my life."

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Tuesday night, when they take on Portland at 6:00 p.m. at the Chiles Center to begin an 18-day, four-game road stint. 

USD's Tuesday night contest at Portland was originally scheduled for this past Thursday (January 18), but was postponed due to travel difficulties associated with inclement weather in the Pacific Northwest.