PORTLAND, Ore. — San Diego men's basketball (10-10, 0-5 WCC), is set to begin a four-game, 18-day road stint this week, traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a West Coast Conference matchup against Portland (7-12, 1-3 WCC) at the Chiles Center.

Tip-off against the Pilots on Tuesday night is set for 6:00 p.m. The action will be streamed live on ESPN+, and Jack Cronin will have the live radio call on USDToreros.com. Live statistics will be available on PortlandPilots.com.

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.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST PORTLAND
• The Toreros are 59-36 against the Pilots all-time, but have lost each of their last five matchups with Portland dating back to February of 2022.

• USD and UP last met in the opening round of last season's West Coast Conference Tournament, when the Toreros fell by a 92-74 margin at the Orleans Arena in what marked the final game of their 2022-2023 campaign. Deuce Turner and Steven Jamerson II — then both sophomores — added 12 points and seven rebounds that night, respectively. 

• San Diego's most recent win over Portland came on January 13, 2022, a 68-63 decision in overtime at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

• The Toreros' most recent win against the Pilots at the Chiles Center was exactly three years ago today; a 78-70 victory in Portland on January 23, 2021.

LAST TIME OUT - Gonzaga Too Much For Toreros at Jenny Craig Pavilion
• San Diego on Saturday night lost a 105-63 decision to Gonzaga at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. 

• The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Toreros 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.

Notable:
• 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."

TOP FIVE
Through 20 games in the 2023-2024 season, San Diego ranks among the West Coast Conference's top five teams in the following statistical categories…

• Bench Points per Game: 1st (27.05)

• Fastbreak Points per Game: 2nd (14.35)

• Turnovers Forced Per Game: 2nd (12.80)

• Blocks per Game: 3rd (3.8)

• Free Throw Percentage: 3rd (73.7)

• Free Throws Made Per Game: 4th (13.1)

• Three Point Percentage: 5th (34.5)

• Rebounds Per Game: 5th (36.00)

LEADING THE WAY
A San Diego player has either achieved or been tied for the game scoring high in five of the Toreros' last seven contests. Those matchups include...

• December 29, 2023 vs. Fresno State: Deuce Turner, 25 points (game high)

• December 31, 2023 vs. Westcliff: PJ Hayes, 21 points (game high)

• January 4, 2024 vs. Saint Mary's: Deuce Turner, 34 points (game high)

• January 6, 2024 at No. 24 Gonzaga: Deuce Turner, 24 points (game high)

• January 11, 2024 vs. San Francisco: Wayne McKinney III, 19 points (tied for game high)

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
• Depth has been a strength for USD this season, with head coach Steve Lavin utilizing 10 different starting lineups and 15 different second-half starting lineups through 20 games.

• The Toreros lead the WCC and rank 45th nationally with an average of 27.05 bench points per game.

• San Diego's second-half starting lineup has been different from its first-half starters on 11 occasions this season, with both lineups being the same in only nine 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 and six averaging 20 or more.

• In total, 15 San Diego players have combined to miss more than 720 days of practice/competition this season due to injury and/or illness.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• San Diego's 2023-2024 roster features eight true freshmen and one Division II transfer.

• Of those eight first-year players, two have already been named the WCC Freshman of the Week: guards Kevin Patton Jr. (twice) and Dragos Lungu.

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

• Sophomore Emmanuel Callas played in his first college game on January 4th after missing all of his freshman season due to injury, followed by freshman Josh Hecht's college debut on Saturday (January 20).

• In total, 10 of the Toreros' 17 players have 20 games of Division I experience or less, and five have appeared in less than 15 college games.

• Junior Wayne McKinney III leads the USD roster with 80 Division I appearances, followed by Deuce Turner with 60, Deven Dahlke with 53, Dominic Muncey with 33, Steven Jamerson II with 27, Bendji Pierre with 16, and Neel Beniwal with 13.

2023-2024 San Diego WCC Freshmen of the Week:
• 1/15/24 - Kevin Patton Jr.

• 1/2/24 - Dragos Lungu

• 12/18/24 - Kevin Patton Jr.

COMEBACK KIDS
• San Diego demonstrated considerable resilience during non-conference play, overcoming at least a five-point deficit in nine of its 10 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

THE DEUCE IS LOOSE
• Junior guard Deuce Turner's 58 total points in two games during the opening week of WCC play against Saint Mary's and No. 24 Gonzaga were the most of any player in the West Coast Conference in that span.

• He shot 57% from both the field (19-for-33) and beyond the arc (12-for-14) across a home matchup with the Gaels (January 4) and a road contest in Spokane (January 6) and made 12 of his 14 total free throws.

HOME SWEET HOME
• San Diego is 9-4 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, South Dakota, and Westcliff.

• 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.

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 (14.7), total points (280), assists (55), steals (30), made free throws (75), and double-digit scoring performances (17)

• 14.7 points per game ranks eighth in the WCC

• Sixty-nine total rebounds are USD's third-most and his 56 defensive boards rank second on the Torero roster

• Seventy-five of his 280 total points so far in 2023-2024 have come from the charity stripe and he is shooting 75% 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
• Ranks second on USD roster with 14.4 points per game (11th in WCC); 36 made threes are second-most for Toreros (seventh-most in WCC)

• Has recorded double-digit points in 13 of his first 18 games this season

• Scored 34 points (11-18 FG, 4-7 3P, 8-9 FT) on January 4 against Saint Mary's, which is the eighth-most in a single game in San Diego history and is the Toreros' most in a game since November 17, 2022, when graduate transfer Eric Williams Jr. scored 43 against Utah State and broke the previous USD record of 40 that dated back to 1972

• Had a game-high 24 points (8-15 FG, 4-7 3P, 4-5 FT) at No. 24 Gonzaga on January 6

• Also recorded 23 points on December 9 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
• Forty-one made three-pointers and 2.16 three-pointers per game this season lead USD and rank fifth and fourth in the WCC, respectively

• Ranks third for the Toreros in total points (195) and points per game (10.3)

• Recorded a career-high in points (23) on December 9 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
• Two-time WCC Freshman of the Week (January 15, 2024 and December 18, 2023)

• Has scored exactly 16 points in three of his last four games (January 6 at No. 24 Gonzaga, January 11 vs. San Francisco, and January 13 vs. Pepperdine)

• Leads USD in both total rebounds (98) and defensive rebounds (79); ranks second in rebounds per game (4.9)

• Is averaging 9.3 points per game (ranks fourth on the USD roster) and has eight double-digit scoring performances so far in 2023-2024

Steven Jamerson II | Junior | Center | Crespi Carmelite High School
• Missed USD's first seven games this season due to injury but already leads the Toreros in rebounds per game (7.2) through 11 games played (10 starts)

• Leads USD with 40 offensive rebounds and has grabbed eight rebounds or more in seven of his last 10 games, including four games with 10 rebounds and two with nine

• Totaled a career-high 13 points on January 6 at No. 24 Gonzaga and was one board shy of a double-double

• 50% field goal percentage leads the USD roster (minimum seven attempts); is averaging 6.4 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
• Ranks second for the Toreros in field goal percentage so far this season, shooting 47.6% (minimum seven attempts)

• Thirty-one offensive rebounds also rank second for USD and his 68 total boards (3.8 RPG) rank fourth

• Thirteen blocks in 2023-2024 season rank second among his teammates