SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A game-high 23 points from junior guard Deuce Turner and a third consecutive double-double from junior center Steven Jamerson II on Saturday evening earned San Diego men's basketball (13-11, 3-6 WCC) a thrilling 70-59 win over Santa Clara (15-9, 6-3 WCC) before a crowd of 2,351 at the Leavey Center.

Turner shot 6-for-12 from the field, 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 from the line as he recorded his 15th double-digit scoring performance of the season.

Jamerson II added 10 points of his own and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to notch his fourth career double-double and his third in the Toreros' last three games.

USD jumped out to an early lead, held onto its advantage through nearly the entirety of the first half, and was ahead by a 36-31 margin at the break.

SCU opened up the second period in strong fashion, and surged forward to take its largest lead of the evening at 49-46 with 10:50 remaining, but a clutch corner three from senior guard Deven Dahlke eventually made it 51-49 in favor of the Toreros, and they didn't trail again.

The win moves San Diego to 3-1 in its last four road games, all of which have come consecutively on its schedule across an 18-day stretch of contests away from home.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara struck first on Saturday evening, but a trio of Torero layups from Jamerson II, freshman guard Kevin Patton Jr., and junior guard PJ Hayes pushed USD ahead by an early 6-4 margin.
• A jumper from sophomore guard Emmanuel Callas at the 13:57 mark stretched USD's advantage to 12-6, then a three from Turner and a lay-up from freshman forward Jimmy Oladokun Jr. made it a 12-point, 21-9 game midway through the half.
• Free throws from Turner with 7:42 remaining extended the Toreros' lead to 14 points at 26-12 before the Broncos began to creep back into the contest.
• SCU closed the half on a 9-3 run to cut their deficit to just five points, 36-31 at the intermission.
• The Broncos opened up the second half strong, and tied the game, then pulled ahead on a pair of free throws with 16:17 to go.
• Santa Clara's lead swelled to three before Hayes was fouled shooting a three and made a trio of free throws to knot the score at 41-41.
• Both teams traded lay-ups to keep things locked at 43-43, then Hayes drilled a deep three to make it 46-43, USD.
• A pair of Santa Clara free throws with 10:50 remaining gave the Broncos their largest lead of the evening at 49-46, but Patton Jr. was able to restore order and get San Diego back within one with a layup.
• With 10:10 remaining and his team trailing 49-48, Dahlke stepped up and delivered perhaps the most pivotal shot of the game, dashing to the corner where he awaited a perfect pass from Jamerson II and drained a clutch three, giving USD a 51-49 lead that it did not relinquish.
• Turner capitalized off of a turnover and hit a three at the 2:48 mark to make it a 10-point, 64-54 game in his team's favor, then made four straight free throws down the stretch to seal a 70-59 win.

TORERO TIDBITS

• San Diego finished its 18-day, four-game road stretch with a 3-1 record.
• Hayes totaled 14 points by going 4-for-8 from the field, 2-for-5 from distance, and 4-for-5 from the line.
• Reigning WCC Freshman of the Week Kevin Patton Jr. added eight points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field and singlehandedly recorded the game's only three blocks.
• Jamerson II chipped in a team-high three assists.
• McKinney III grabbed five rebounds, all on the defensive end, and led the game with three steals.
• San Diego led for 32:43 of Saturday evening's game, trailed for only 4:11, and was tied with Santa Clara for 2:57.
• After trailing by five points or more at some point in each of its first 11 wins this season, USD has trailed by a maximum of two and three points, respectively, in each of its last two victories (January 27 at Pepperdine and February 3 at Santa Clara).

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Steve Lavin on his team's victory at Santa Clara:

• "In conference play, when you can knock off a team that's in the upper half of the league — on their home floor — it's an indication that you're making progress. Santa Clara is a quality team who's beaten Gonzaga…so I'm proud of our players, not only to win this game tonight, but to win three out of four road games as the youngest team in school history. (The win) really bodes well, not only for the future this season, but beyond. I think this Bay Area trip was really valuable for us in terms of team bonding and playing some really tough competition."

Head coach Steve Lavin on what his team did well against the Broncos:

• "We've been on the other end of miscues and self-inflicted wounds with our turnovers, and it's fueled our opponents' runs against us. But tonight we turned the table, took care of the basketball, only had 12 turnovers, and by forcing Santa Clara into 20 turnovers, we were able to get out in transition and convert 24 points off of the Broncos' miscues…"

Head coach Steve Lavin on the role his team's depth played in the win:

• "The strength of this team is our depth. We've had so many players that have been in big games and had big moments. We've changed our starting lineup based on matchups and injuries…and that's forged a certain resilient spirit, which is a great trait to have in sports, not to mention life."

Junior guard Deuce Turner on his team's victory at Santa Clara:

• "That's big for us, that we just got three out of four road wins…we're going back to San Diego with a lot of momentum. It just shows what we can do, and our (high) ceiling."

Junior guard Deuce Turner on his team's resilience:

• "It just shows the trust that we have in each other….we're gonna keep coming back to some guys that are struggling, we're gonna pick each other up."

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Wednesday night, when they return home to host Loyola Marymount. Tip-off against the Lions at the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 p.m.