LAS VEGAS — San Diego men's basketball on Saturday night suffered a tough 104-79 loss to Santa Clara, drawing its 2023-2024 season to a close in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 WCC Tournament at Orleans Arena.

The fourth-seeded Broncos (20-12, 10-6 WCC) out-rebounded the fifth-seeded Toreros (18-15, 7-9 WCC) by a 55-25 margin and scored 35 of their 104 total points from the free throw line. 

Freshmen guards Keyon Kensie and Kevin Patton Jr. were bright spots for USD in the loss, teaming up to go 13-for-18 from the field while scoring 16 and 19 points, respectively. As a duo, they pulled in eight total boards and added four assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• San Diego wasted little time in Saturday night's contest, opening up an early 6-2 lead by way of layups from Patton Jr. and Jamerson II. 
• The two teams traded buckets until USD regained a four-point advantage just after the under-15 media break in the first half by way of a layup from freshman forward Jimmy Oladokun Jr. 
• After giving up a 9-0 run, USD got back within one at 24-23 on a lay-up from junior forward PJ Hayes with nine minutes to go in the first period of play. 
• The Broncos opened up an 16-point advantage to close out the second half, moving the score to 51-34 at the intermission.
• Kensie gave the Toreros some early momentum to start the second half by scoring a pair of and-ones to notch five quick points, but San Diego still trailed 62-42 at the 16 minute mark. 
• A turn-around jumper from McKinney III cut the Santa Clara lead to 11 at the 11:40 mark, but SCU quickly regained its advantage, and took its largest lead of the night (27 points) with 3:37 remaining in the game. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Behind big nights from Kensie and Patton Jr, Torero freshmen combined to score 43 of the Toreros' 79 total points on Saturday night. 
• USD combined for 14 steals and blocks, while the Broncos finished with just ten. 
• Kensie recorded a career-high 16 points in the loss, and added six boards. 
• As a team, USD matched Santa Clara with seven made threes, including one in the second half from 2023-2024 WCC All-Academic Team selection Dominic Muncey.
• San Diego prevailed in one of its three matchups with the Broncos in 2023-2024.

WHAT IT MEANS
After being picked to finish last (ninth) in the 2023-2024 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, San Diego finished fifth in the final league standings. With a final record of 18-14 and 7-9 in WCC play this season, the Toreros posted seven more overall wins and four more WCC wins than it did in 2022-2023. And after not having a single player selected to the 2023-2024 WCC Preseason Team, Deuce Turner was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year and to the All-WCC Second Team, Wayne McKinney joined Turner on the All-WCC Second Team, and Kevin Patton Jr. earned an All-WCC Freshman Team selection after securing a conference-best four WCC Freshman of the Week awards. 

In 2023-2024, USD also achieved the following with head coach Steve Lavin at the helm for a second season: 

• 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 (December 9, 2023 over Arizona State)
• Eight double-digit comeback wins, which led the nation

San Diego did so with a roster that featured eight freshmen and one newcomer (Division II transfer PJ Hayes). Each of the 17 players on the USD roster retain eligibility for the 2024-2025 season.

The Toreros will resume their pursuit of a West Coast Conference championship next fall.