PORTLAND, Ore. – San Diego fell by a final score of 82-92 on the road to Portland, succumbing to 13 3-pointers and 31 free throws made by the Pilots despite the Toreros making more shots from the field.
 
Multiple Toreros had career days in the loss. Graduate guard Kody Clouet led the Toreros with 19 points on four threes. Freshman forward Kean Webb had personal bests with nine rebounds and six points.

Freshman guard Jackson Gaffney scored his first career points and added on two offensive rebounds and a block while junior Neel Beniwal scored his first points since 2023 and finished +9 in just over a minute played. Grad guard Deven Dahlke was also a bright spot with 13 points on three threes. Freshman Tony Duckett made it three straight in double-figure scoring and senior center Steven Jamerson II had 10 boards, seven on the offensive side.
 
The Toreros trailed by as much as 22 points in the second half but ended the game on a 16-4 run behind Dahlke and redshirt-freshman Joey Chammaa. USD had 18 offensive rebounds and bested the hosts 20-8 in second chance points.
 
Portland was piling it on from behind the arc and behind the free throw line, the conference's best 3-point team going 13-28 from deep and 31-37 from the charity stripe. Pilots guard Max Mackinnon scored 43 on seven of those threes and 18 free throws. San Diego held Portland without a made 2-point field goal in the first 15:45 of play.
 
How it Happened

• For the second straight game, grad guard Dom Muncey got the start
• USD had a slow shooting start while Portland was 5-7 from three from tip off, their only made field goals
• After trailing 17-5, the Toreros would go on a 9-0 and 13-3 run to cut the deficit to one after Gaffney's first career made field goal following an offensive rebound
• The first Portland two came at 4:15 to go in the first period, which was followed by the first San Diego three, from Clouet
• Clouet would make two more before the end of the half, while the Pilots went on a 4-4 FG streak to close out a 42-37 halftime lead
• The Toreros did have nine steals in the first half
• Portland threes and free throws persisted to start the second half, expanding their lead that quickly got to as much as 22
• Chammaa and Dahlke put forth quality minutes late, as did senior forward Colby Brooks and Beniwal, who scored his first points since 2023 after missing all of last season
• The Toreros closed out the game on a 10-0 and 16-4 run

 
Post Game Quotes
 
USD Head Coach Steve Lavin
 
Opening Statement
Falling behind in games and having to dig ourselves out of double-digit deficits is something that we will continue to address yet we've got to give credit to Portland for playing well tonight as they did some good things offensively. They found the hot hand & exploited that matchup. 43 points for Max Mackinnon definitely qualifies as an extra hot hand. They were purposeful in their approach. They went inside on our smaller guards, posted them up, which led to some foul trouble, free throws and high percentage scoring opportunities including some kick-outs for open threes on the opposite side of the floor. Portland, at times, almost has a European style of play. They'll invert by stepping their bigs away from the basket and they'll post up their guards who can shot-make and play-make on the interior. We only out-rebounded them by three, and I thought that was an area we could exploit more. On the positive side of the ledger, Jackson Gaffney gave us some good minutes which was a bright spot. He's battled injuries and in recent games we weren't able to get him into the game for significant minutes but tonight he showed the versatility & value on both ends of the court.
 
On Kody Clouet and Kean Webb's career days...
Kody's gaining rhythm and confidence at the offensive end of the court after missing a stretch of the season with a back injury. Kean is a competitor. He is an old school low post player. He gives us a presence in the basket area. Nine rebounds tonight was a career high. He's a spirited competitor that makes winning plays and brings an intangible element to our team. He's a terrific teammate. That's why his fellow Toreros love playing with him.
 
On how many times he's seen a player go completely over the scorers table...
Yeah, that tenacious hustle and effort by Kean reminded me of a young Earl Watson at UCLA, who was great competitor that would give up his body in the midst of competition to get a win.
 
Up Next
USD remains on the road, taking on San Francisco in the Bay in two days' time. Tip between the Toreros and Dons Saturday is set for 7 p.m..