SAN DIEGO — San Diego men's basketball (0-0, 0-0 WCC) on Friday night defeated Division II Sonoma State (0-0, 0-0 CCAA) 73-61 in a preseason exhibition game at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Tied 29-29 with the Seawolves at halftime, the Toreros used an 11-0 run in the opening minutes of the second period to take a late lead that they did not relinquish.

Kody Clouet and Keyon Kensie Jr. led USD with 17 points apiece in the victory. The efforts were aided by another 12 points from Joey Chaamaa, who was 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 from distance, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the line. Santiago Trouet paced all players with 10 rebounds, grabbing an even five on both offense and defense. David Simon set forth contributions on both sides of the ball, blocking a game-high five shots while adding 10 points on offense.

USD chased by as many as eight midway through the first half but was within a point after a Deven Dahlke layup cut the deficit to 22-21 with 4:21 to go. SSU stretched its lead to five as the half wound down before five points from Chaamaa and a clutch three from Clouet in the final minute pulled the Toreros even with the Seawolves.

After falling behind 31-29 to begin the second half, another three from Clouet put San Diego in front by a 32-31 margin, and it didn't trail again. USD's lead swelled to as many as 14 at the 4:01 mark, aided by Kensie Jr. and Clouet scoring 15 and 14 points in the closing period, respectively.

The Toreros will open their 2024-2025 season next Wednesday (November 6) at 8:00 p.m. when they host Rider University in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.