SAN DIEGO — The Toreros kick off Feast Week in home territory as they take on Southern Utah Friday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion as a part of the Toreros' 2024 multi-team event.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin (PxP) and Braden Surprenant (analyst) calling the action.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAY MTE
• The third participant of the MTE is the Idaho Vandals, whom Southern Utah will face Saturday in the JCP at 2 p.m. and the Toreros on Sunday at 2 p.m..
• This will be the fourth consecutive year the Toreros are playing in a three-team MTE, the first time hosting during Feast Week since 2012 ... San Diego last had a winning record in an MTE in 2013 (Estero, Fla.)
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
• Friday will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams, the first since 2013
• USD is 7-0 against Southern Utah, winning each of the previous four matchups in America's Finest City
LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego Men's Basketball dropped a 78-66 decision to Idaho State on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
• Graduate transfer Kody Clouet was tied for the game high with 15 points in the loss. Santiago Trouet was 6-for-10 from the field as he added a career-best 14 points on top of seven rebounds and three steals while Kjay Bradley Jr. chipped in 12 points alongside three steals of his own.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Toreros were down by 16 at the 16:37 mark in the second half before cutting the deficit to four, 63-59, with a 7-0 run that was capped by a pair of made free throws from Clouet with 6:02 to go
- Idaho State responded with a steady stream of points down the stretch, and was able to build a late advantage that USD could not overcome despite a driving layup from Clouet that cut the deficit back to eight with 2:50 remaining
NOTABLE
• Steven Jamerson II led USD with eight rebounds, grabbing an even four on offense and four on defense
• Bradley Jr. had a team-high four assists
• Trouet and Bradley Jr. were both tied for the game high with three steals apiece
• Dominic Muncey made a corner three at the 14:01 mark in the second half and added an offensive rebound, both his first of the season
HOT START
• In the win over Boston Univ. on Nov. 8, 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.
