SAN DIEGO – San Diego men's basketball 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 (10-6, 0-1 WCC) gave up a season-high 18 turnovers that turned into 27 points for the Gaels (10-6, 1-0 WCC). 

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. 

TORERO TIDBITS 

• 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 the fight the team continues to have while trailing:
  • "That's what I love about this team. We didn't have that (resilience) last year at all. They're hungry. So when they're out there, they're like, 'We're down this much, but we're not worried about how much we're down.' We're worried about 'How do we come back? How do we keep fighting back?'"

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action this weekend, when they travel to Spokane, Washington to continue WCC play on the road against No. 24 Gonzaga. Tip-off at the McCarthy Athletic Center on Saturday night is set for 6:00 p.m.