SAN DIEGO – USD Men's Basketball secured a 68-61 victory over Idaho in the Jenny Craig Pavilion Sunday afternoon in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, thanks in part to career-high scoring performances from Santiago Trouet and Deven Dahlke.
 
The Toreros improve to 2-4 on the season, finishing their two-game home multi-team event with a weekend split.
 
Notable
 
Trouet, a sophomore forward, had multiple and-one scores in the second half and a three with 21 seconds remaining to put the game away. He notched his second double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Dahlke made his first start since Nov. 6, 2023, the first game of the 2023-24 season, and he made the most of it against the Vandals. The graduate guard scored a career-best 15 points on 5-6 shooting from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc and a perfect 3-3 at the free throw line.
 
Dahlke's work at the charity stripe embodied the whole team's improved effort, going from 2-7 in first half free throws to an unblemished 10-10 in the second period, helping the Toreros clinch the victory down the stretch.
 
San Diego also out-stole the Vandals, 7-5, forcing 20 turnovers with seven blocks. Offensively, the hosts outscored their opponents in the paint 36-28, off the bench 26-15 and on fastbreaks 20-5. The Toreros secured a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (16-15) for the first time since game one, against Rider on Nov. 6.
 
How it Happened

• Head Coach Steve Lavin ran out his fourth different starting lineup in as many games, adding Trouet and Dahlke into the first five for the first time this year
• USD got a small head start behind its defense, forcing four turnovers in a span of 2:23 early and forcing difficult shots out of a typically high percentage 3-point shooting Idaho team
• The Toreros found leads behind a corner three from sophomore forward David Simon and a deep one from graduate guard Kody Clouet, but could never create much separation as the Vandals' slow shooting start dissipated
• At the half, the Toreros led 26-25, on 36.7% shooting from the field, but 2-11 from behind the arc and 2-7 behind the free throw line
• Senior Steven Jamerson II had six points (finished with 12) on 3-3 shooting, while Simon had four offensive rebounds
• San Diego had a strong start coming out of the locker room, seven of the first nine points coming out of Trouet's hands
• Trouet and Dahlke combined to amass a 9-0 run and build an eight-point lead at 15:35 remaining
• Freshman guard Tony Duckett, in his second career game, again came off the bench and made an impact, as did sophomore guard Dragos Lungu to put the Toreros lead back to seven after an Idaho comeback
• Dahlke scored eight straight late in the half, securing a career high in points and a game-high USD lead of nine points
• With a two-point lead and 21 seconds on the clock, Trouet, previously 0-5 from 3-point land, nailed one and then secured a steal at the other end, making both his free throws to set the final score at 68-61

 
Up Next
The Toreros play host to DIII Marian (Wisc.) on Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday night at 7 p.m., the seventh and final home game of the season-opening stretch in the Jenny Craig Pavilion for the Toreros.