SAN FRANCISCO – USD Men's Hoops hung tough with the NET No. 71 San Francisco Dons who are now 13-0 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center following the 69-81 decision Saturday night.
 
The Toreros led for over nine minutes in the first half and exchanged leads with the Dons and despite better shooting from the hosts, kept within reach.
 
San Diego freshman guard Tony Duckett guided the team's scoring contingent with 17 on a game high seven made field goals. Redshirt freshman guard Joey Chammaa was again a spark off the bench that kept USD in the game, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Graduate guard Deven Dahlke had 11 points off of three made threes, for the second straight game.
 
San Francisco, who takes around 50% of their shots from beyond the arc, doubled the Toreros up on 3-pointers, made more total field goals, but finished even at 21 points at the charity stripe.
 
How it Happened

• For the third straight game, the same lineup started on the court
• Senior Center Steven Jamerson II broke a no-scoring deadlock through the first three minutes
• The Dons were also 1-6 from the field to start, which the Toreros took advantage of to build an 8-3 lead with a punctuation mark from a Duckett dunk before the first timeout
• San Francisco finally made it's first three of the game and tied the game up at the under-12 media timeout but were answered by USD's first three, from Dahlke
• Both teams exchanged leads up to five times, Dahlke leading the way for San Diego
• The Toreros were out front by way of a 7-0 run
• USF however, would take the advantage before the half behind multiple threes, leading 32-28 at the break
• The Toreros used a pair of and-one opportunities to tie the game for a third time early in the second period, but the Dons had answers
• Duckett came alive, but San Diego still trailed
• USD would get into frequent foul trouble early in the second half
• San Francisco began to pull away to double digits for the first time using free throws and starkly different shooting streaks
• San Diego trailed by as much as 17 but wouldn't let it get to 20 as the Dons came into some foul trouble themselves
• Chammaa ignited USD as he and grad guard Kody Clouet combined on the Toreros next 14 points, cutting the lead down to nine with two minutes to go
• USF would close out the game however, getting past the Toreros full court press

 
Up Next
The Toreros return home for the first time in four games as they host a pair of Coaches vs. Cancer games, beginning with Pepperdine Thursday at 7 p.m. before their second go around the conference with a shot at LMU, welcoming the Lions Saturday at 2 p.m..


Post Game Quotes

Head Coach Steve Lavin

Opening Statement
I'm proud of our team's performance in the first half as it was our most sustained defense of the season. We were able to minimize a high-octane offensive team. Our changing defenses allowed us to limit their leading scorers. With that said, we gave up too many offensive boards, which led to our foul trouble and gave USF high percentage shots. We hung tough through our foul trouble and droughts offensively.

We are very proud of our team for battling through an unprecedented run of injuries. We lead the nation in number of players having missed games due to injuries. Thirteen of our players have missed games due to injuries this season. There is no quit in this team. They come to practice with a great attitude and want to get better. They're eager to learn.

On what Joey Chammaa's consistency as a gritty player off the bench means...
Yeah, he's improved in all aspects of play. He has an innate ability to score in a variety of ways. In spite of his diminutive stature he's very effective because of his ball handling, footwork and shot making. He's a threat from the three point line. He's a threat at mid-range, and he can get to the rim and draw fouls. He's also demonstrated the ability to set the table for his teammates and his play making; he had five assists the two prior games to tonight.

On the absence of eight players due to injury...
Well, we've had an unprecedented run of injuries, and thankfully, we've got a roster of 21 players, because otherwise we would have had to forfeit games, which would not only affect USD but the rest of our conference. In short, if we had a traditional roster of 14 or 15, we'd be down to four or five players, and then you've got to have managers and coaches out there in practice to be able to go five on five. That's dangerous, because you don't want any of your staff blowing out their knees or ankles. When we travel, our injured players are back on campus working in our athletic training room in addition to having a tailored strength and conditioning program to rehabilitate in an effort to return as soon as possible. I'm impressed with this group's bounce back and attitude. The work continues.