SPOKANE, Wash. — San Diego men's basketball (10-6, 0-1 WCC) is set to embark on its first West Coast Conference road trip of the 2023-2024 season this weekend, traveling to the McCarthey Athletic Center for a matchup with No. 24 Gonzaga (10-4, 1-0 WCC).

Tip-off against the Zags on Saturday night is set for 6:00 p.m. PST, and the action will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Jack Cronin will have the live radio call on USDToreros.com, and live statistics will be available on GoZags.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST GONZAGA
• The Toreros are 21-79 against the Zags all-time, with the two programs' most recent meeting coming last February 23, when San Diego dropped a 97-72 decision in Spokane.

• USD last defeated Gonzaga on January 22, 2014, earning a 69-66 win over the Bulldogs at the Jenny Craig Pavilion behind 16 points from its all-time leading scorer, Johnny Dee. 

• San Diego most recently beat the Zags in Spokane on February 17, 2000, when it prevailed in a 82-70 decision.

LAST TIME OUT - Deuce Turner Totals 34 Points in Loss to Saint Mary's 
• San Diego got a career-high 34 points from junior guard Deuce Turner on Thursday night, but a second-half Saint Mary's surge dealt the Toreros a tough 81-70 loss in their West Coast Conference opener at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. 

• Turner, who had 23 points at halftime, made 11-of-17 shots, including 4-of-7 from three-point range and 8-of-9 at the free throw line, along with two assists. 

• The Toreros gave up a season-high 18 turnovers that turned into 27 points for the Gaels. 

How It Happened:
• St. Mary's opened the game on a 9-2 run before Turner answered with a driving layup going into the first media timeout four minutes in. 

• The Gaels went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 17-6 before a player for St. Mary's was assessed a technical foul and freshman guard Dragos Lungu made both free throws. 

• Junior guard Wayne McKinney III made a bucket from 14 feet out that was part of an 11-1 run to get USD within one, 18-17 with 8:29 remaining left in the opening half. 

• After St. Mary's made back-to-back three pointers, Turner continued his hot first half by scoring 12 straight Torero points to get San Diego within two, 31-29 with 3:50 left in the first 20 minutes of regulation. 

• McKinney III was able to cut the deficit down to one, 32-31, with 2:43 left in the first half.  

• St. Mary's closed the half on a 9-2 run before junior forward PJ Hayes nailed a three-pointer from the wing as time expired, cutting the deficit down to five, 41-36. 

• McKinney III began the second half with a driving layup and completed the three-point play with the free throw to cut the lead down to two, 41-39 with 18:29. 

• St. Mary's followed that by going on an 8-0 run, extending the lead to 49-39 with 16:47 and prompting a San Diego timeout.   

• The Gaels extended their lead to 14 before Turner scored a bucket to get the lead back down to 12, 59-47 with 11:53 left in the game. 

• After McKinney III knocked down a three-pointer in transition, Turner got to the free throw line and made both ends of a one-and-one, cutting the lead down to nine with under 10 minutes left. 

• However, the Gaels returned to the scoreboard, going on a 10-0 run, extending the lead to 19, 71-52 with eight minutes remaining.  

• San Diego was able to go on a mini 9-4 run that was fueled by a couple of buckets from Turner as well as an alley-oop from Turner to freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr. to get the score to 75-61 with five minutes left.  

• The Toreros cut the lead down to 10 on a Patton Jr. layup and Hayes' steal plus the layup in the backcourt with 2:08 left. 

• Hayes got the deficit back down to single-digits on a transition three with 1:03 left. It was ultimately not enough as Saint Mary's recorded the win, 81-70. 

Notable:
• Turner's 34 points on Thursday night are the eighth-most in a single game in program history and are 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.

• McKinney III registered three steals — all in the first half — to tie his career high. 

• Junior center Steven Jamerson II recorded a team-high eight rebounds.  

• After USD shot 53.8% from the floor in the first half, the Toreros shot 40.7% in the second half to end with 47.2% overall, their sixth-highest scoring percentage this season. 

• USD shot 81.3% from the free throw line, also the sixth-best mark in a game this season.

• The Toreros also recorded a season-low 24 rebounds, despite only being outrebounded by two. 

They Said It:
Head Coach Steve Lavin on Deuce Turner's big night:
• "Nothing that Deuce does surprises us because we see it on a daily basis in practice. He plays at a pace that allows him to make good judgments, his hand-eye coordination is outstanding. Because he's more diminutive than many guards in college basketball, he's learned how to be creative and create his own shot and separate great distance between himself and a defender to get off the shots."

Junior guard Deuce Turner on his mindset during his 34-point performance:
• "You just kind of lose yourself. You don't worry about the crowd. Not worried about anything else in life. It's just strictly between those lines. It's kind of an out-of-body experience. Like just shooting by yourself at the park."

HOME SWEET HOME
• San Diego is 9-2 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.

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

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 16 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 six 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 seven averaging 20 or more.

LUNGU NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• First-year guard Dragos Lungu was named the WCC Freshman of the Week for January 2, the West Coast Conference announced on Tuesday afternoon.

• Lungu picked up 13 points during San Diego's New Year's Eve win over Westcliff. He also grabbed seven rebounds and collected two assists. Across two games for the Toreros last week he totaled 15 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal.

• This is the second time in three weeks a Torero has won the league's weekly freshman honor after Kevin Patton Jr. earned the nod back on December 18.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• Among freshmen in the WCC, three of the top five scorers entering this week's action are Toreros, led by the reigning Credit Union 1 WCC Freshman of the Week Dragos Lungu (8.3 ppg), Patton Jr. (8.0 ppg) and Jimmy Oladokun Jr. (7.0 ppg).

• 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 16 games of Division I experience or less.

• Junior Wayne McKinney III leads the USD roster with 77 Division I appearances, followed by Deuce Turner with 57, Deven Dahlke with 49, Dominic Muncey with 29, Steven Jamerson II with 23, Bendji Pierre with 16, and Neel Beniwal with 13.

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
Deuce Turner | Junior | Guard | Bucknell University
• Leads USD with 15.2 points per game this season; 228 total points rank second for Toreros and are seventh-most in the WCC

• Thirty-one made threes ranks second for Toreros and are sixth-most in WCC

• Has recorded double-digit points in 12 of his first 15 games this season

• Scored 34 points on Thursday night (11-18 FG, 4-7 3P, 8-9 FT) 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.

• Also recorded 23 points 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

Wayne McKinney III | Junior | Guard | Coronado High School
• Leads USD in total points (231), assists (48), steals (26), made free throws (70), and double-digit scoring performances (14)

• 14.4 points per game ranks second on San Diego roster and is eighth in the WCC

• Sixty-two total rebounds are USD's third-most and his 51 defensive boards rank second for the Toreros

• Seventy of his 231 total points so far in 2023-2024 have come from the charity stripe and he is shooting 77% 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

PJ Hayes | Senior | Forward | Black Hills State University
• Leads USD with 32 made three-pointers so far this season, which ranks fifth in the WCC

• 2.1 three-pointers per game entering this week's action is also the fifth-most in the conference

• Ranks third for the Toreros in total points (152) and points per game (10.1)

• 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
• Ranks second in the WCC with 23 total blocks and 1.4 blocks per game so far this season

• Leads USD in both total rebounds (76) and defensive rebounds (59); ranks second in rebounds per game (4.8)

• Is averaging 8.1 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
• Missed USD's first seven games this season due to injury but already leads the Toreros in rebounds per game (7.6) through eight games played (six starts)
Leads USD with 30 offensive rebounds; has four 10-rebound performances since December 9; added eight on Thursday night versus Saint Mary's

• Has the second-highest field goal percentage on the Torero roster (47%) and is averaging 5.3 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 so far this season, shooting 50% (minimum seven attempts)

• Twenty-seven offensive rebounds rank second for USD and his 60 total boards (4.3 RPG) rank third

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