SAN DIEGO — The Toreros will hope to get back to winning ways in an affair with Idaho State Saturday, their fourth home game of seven consecutive to start the season.
Tip-off Saturday is set for 12:02 p.m., and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Braden Suprenant (PxP) calling the action.
San Diego Toreros (1-2, 0-0 WCC) • Idaho State Bengals (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky)
Saturday, November 16, 2024 • Noon PST
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100) • San Diego, California
Live Streaming • ESPN+ • Live Stats • USDToreros.com
Social • X.com/USDMBB • Instagram.com/USDMBB
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE BENGALS
• Saturday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams, the first of the 21st century, with the Bengals and Toreros last crossing paths on Dec. 28, 1999
• USD is 3-0 against Idaho State, with two home wins (71-68, Dec. 29, 198 & 81-69, Dec. 22, 1983) and another narrow victory, 64-61, in '99's neutral site battle in Logan, Utah
LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego Men's Basketball dropped an 85-76 decision on Tuesday, Nov. 12, to Portland State at the Jenny Craig Pavilion as the Toreros clawed back from a 21-point deficit to within four.
• Sophomore guard Keyon Kensie Jr. led the Toreros with a career-high 20 points in the loss ... Steven Jamerson II (6-6 FG) and Kody Clouet added 13 more apiece, while Jamerson II headlined his team's efforts on defense with two blocks and five rebounds, nine boards in total.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- USD was down by six early on but was able to take a short-lived lead with 12:24 remaining when five straight points from Kensie Jr. put San Diego ahead 17-16
- The Vikings answered back right away to go up 18-17, and the Toreros didn't lead again after going the final 5:23 of the opening half without making a field goal ... At the break, USD was down 51-33
- San Diego held Portland State scoreless for nearly four minutes as the second half got underway, and used a 9-0 run to pull back within 12 when Kensie Jr. reached a new career-high in points with a fastbreak layup that moved the score to 59-44
- By the 6:31 mark, USD had cut the deficit to 10 on a floater in the lane from Dragos Lungu, having held the Vikings without a field goal for another four-plus minutes
- A pair of free throws from Kjay Bradley Jr. made it a nine-point game at 67-58, then a layup in the paint from Jamerson II kept it there at 69-60
- PSU responded with a deep three at the five-minute mark to make it a 12-point game again before an 8-0 San Diego run fueled by Kody Clouet and Bradley Jr. pulled the Toreros within four at 74-70 with 1:55 to go, but they got no closer
NOTABLE
• USD outscored the guests 43-34 in the second half, 37-17 in total second-chance points and 31-21 in total bench points
• Kensie Jr. led the Toreros scoring with a career-best 20 points, a game best 13 in the first half, marking the third consecutive game with a Torero scoring 20+
• Freshmen Gavin Ripp (2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block) and Chas Lewless (2 points, +1 +/-) made their collegiate debuts
• Jamerson II's nine total rebounds led the game, also adding two blocks
HOT START
• In the win over Boston Univ., Junior guard Kjay Bradley Jr. became the first Torero to score 24-plus in the first two games of the season since fellow junior college transfer Isaiah Pineiro (28 and 25) at the start of the 2018 season, the first Torero to do so in his first two games of DI college basketball since at least 1999.
- On Nov. 10, his 26.0 ppg was good for T-17th best in the nation, third among players in their first DI games
- The junior from Inglewood, Calif. recorded the highest scoring Torero performance (28) since Deuce Turner's 30 on March 2, 2024 against Pacific
BUILDING ON LAST SEASON'S SUCCESSES
• With year-to-year growth evident within the program, the Toreros look to continue to build on top of their successes in the 2023-24 season and return to prominent heights ... 2023-24's season highlights included:
- The program's most wins (18) since 2018-19
- The program's first winning record since 2018-19
- The program's best regular-season WCC finish since 2014-15 (fifth)
- The program's first win over a Power-5 opponent since 2018 (Dec. 9, 2023, over Arizona State)
- Eight double-digit comeback wins, which led the nation
INTRODUCING, YOUR 2024-25 TOREROS
• Lavin and his staff have reloaded the roster of 21 players, 14 of which are underclassmen, both the most among WCC rosters and most for the program since at least 2005-06 ... The team's average age prior to opening day was 20.96 years
• USD also leads the WCC and is tied (Long Beach State) among all Californian DI programs with the most players from one state on the roster – 11 from California
KEY RETURNERS
• Senior center Steven Jamerson II is the top returner for San Diego, averaging 8.3 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game with six double-doubles in 2023-24
• Sophomore guard Dragos Lungu is coming off a stellar summer as he was 2024 FIBA U20 EuroBasket MVP and champion with Romania during the offseason, averaging 16.3 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game and 18.4 EFF in the tournament
• Experienced guards, graduate guard Deven Dahlke and senior Dominic Muncey, also both return ready to make an impact in the USD lineup
KEY ADDITIONS
• The Toreros add nine newcomers to the roster: six freshmen and three transfers
• Graduate guard Kody Clouet returns to his native San Diego County and highlights the incoming class, set to be a focal point in the San Diego offense
- Averaged 17.6 PPG, shooting 50.3% FG / 43% 3PT / 81% FT at SE Oklahoma State last season
• Redshirt senior Colby Brooks shifts WCC sides from Gonzaga in 2024-25
• Forwards Kean Webb and Gavin Ripp highlight the freshman class coming to San Diego
HEAD COACHES AS TORERO ASSISTANTS
• Also re-bolstered within the program for the 2024-25 season is the coaching staff; joining Lavin and his 14 years of DI head coaching experience on the bench is three other former head coaches
• The first key addition is former NBA veteran & head coach, Earl Watson, as an assistant
- Head Coach of Phoenix Suns, 2016-17, previously with the Raptors as an assistant from 2021-23
- Watson played under Lavin for four seasons at UCLA, ranking top-5 in several all-time stats
• Also new to the USD sideline in 2024-25 is volunteer Justin Hutson, previously the Fresno State head coach from 2018-24 and 10-year assistant at four different DI programs
• John Moore, the all-time winningest head coach at NAIA Westmont College is geared up for his third season alongside Lavin as a USD assistant
THE SCHEDULE
• The Toreros kick off the regular season with seven November home games before their first road affair, at Arizona State on Dec. 3
- The Toreros' marquee win last season was the 89-84 triumph over ASU on Dec. 9 in San Diego
• San Diego's MTE is in the home confines of the JCP against Southern Utah (11/22) and Idaho (11/24)
• USD will play at San Diego State on Dec. 7, the first matchup with the cross-town rival since 2019 and first in the Viejas Arena since the win over the Aztecs in 2018
• Toreros will wrap up the non-conference slate facing Grand Canyon in the Intuit Dome (Inglewood, Calif.) on Dec. 28 as a part of the West Coast Hoops Showdown, the first college basketball games ever in the newly constructed Intuit Dome, home of the LA Clippers
• USD plays each league opponent twice, except for preseason league favorites Gonzaga and Saint Mary's
• San Diego plays new WCC opponents Oregon State and Washington State in home-and-homes
YEAR THREE OF THE LAVIN ERA
• 2024-2025 marks head coach Steve Lavin's third season at the helm in San Diego after being hired in April of 2022.
• Prior to the start of the new season, Lavin had accumulated a record of 266-185 (.589) with 10 postseason appearances in 13 full seasons as a DI head coach.
• 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, previously working with ESPN, ABC, and the Pac-12 Network.
