CORVALLIS, Ore. – San Diego Men's Basketball was halted by the Oregon State Beavers on the road Saturday afternoon, falling by a final score of 54-81 in a game that boiled down to stark shooting contrasts.
The Toreros trailed by as much as 15 points inside three minutes remaining in the first half but showed life, going on a 10-0 run to head into the break only trailing by five. Shooting splits took over from there as OSU shot 60.9% from the field in the second period – 57.8% on the game and an overall 8-16 from three – to San Diego's 20.6% second half field goal and 7.7% from deep. The Toreros made five threes in the first but were just 1-13 beyond the arc in the second.
Freshman
Tony Duckett led the Torero scoring contingent with 12, his second straight and fourth career game in double figures. Fellow underclassman guard
Joey Chammaa, the spark behind USD's hot streak to end the first half, finished with 10 points, a career-best three assists and game-high four steals. Freshman forward
Kean Webb also played a career-high 11 minutes, scoring two points with a rebound and steal.
How it Happened
- The Beavers were ahead on straight shot-making from the get-go, starting the game on a 5-5 field goal stint building a 12-3 lead by the first media timeout
- Junior guard Kjay Bradley Jr. ended a four-minute USD scoring drought and 6-0 OSU run
- Another 7-0 Beaver run later would lead to a 27-13 home team advantage, eventually ended by a Chammaa three
- Duckett hit back-to-back threes and logged a steal that got the game back to within single digits to kick off the San Diego hot streak, beginning at 2:49 remaining
- Multiple steals and jumpers by Chammaa before the halftime buzzer finished that run at an overall 12-2, the score reading 28-33
- USD shooting woes reemerged at the start of the second half, however, Oregon State pushing it's lead back to double digits
- San Diego started the second half 0-10 on 3-pointers, a strong difference to the 5-16 (41.7%) first 20 minutes
- OSU scored 16 points at the free throw line in the second half
- Sophomore guard Nick Del Bosque made his second career appearance, freshman guard Jackson Gaffney his fourth to close out the game
Up Next
The team stays on the road for a battle at current AP No. 19 Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. on Wednesday, Jan. 8 with tip off set for 6 p.m.. It will be the Toreros lone meeting with the Bulldogs this season. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ while voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin will also have the call on USDToreros.com/watch.
Post Game Quotes
USD Head Coach Steve Lavin
Opening statement…
It was a disappointing performance at both ends of the court. We didn't bring the necessary toughness or togetherness, and as a result, Oregon State was able to win in a dominating fashion. We've had an encouraging stretch of games and practices with incremental improvement, but this afternoon, other than the way we closed out the first half, we played poorly. We did go on a 10-0, 12-2 run to close the half, cut into the deficit from 15 down to five. That group played tenacious defense. They were opportunistic and were able to generate some good shots. The ball was popping offensively in terms of ball movement leading to good looks at the basket, but Oregon State really dominated this game from start to finish, other than that five minute stretch where we showed some life.
On sophomore guard Joey Chammaa's tenaciousness…
Yeah, Joey has dramatically improved his defense during his time here, and he's being rewarded with playing time for his tenaciousness. He's an opportunistic scorer and has demonstrated the ability to play-make as well, so he's given us a shot in the arm, really lifted us in a number of games coming off the bench. That's why we started him in the second half this afternoon, and as we continue to search for personnel combinations that can sustain a level of competitive performance. So, we are encouraged by Joey's work ethic and recent play. In that good stretch to finish the first half we were sharing the basketball and getting good looks, and we were just active defensively as well, getting our hands on balls for deflections & steals. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to be competitive. We did not bring enough toughness this afternoon as we have in our previous games. We didn't bring the necessary fight or togetherness to give ourselves a chance to win this afternoon.
On freshmen Kean Webb and Tony Duckett's improvement…
Very encouraged by Kean's performance today; held his own in terms of being a presence and providing resistance at the rim. This was a terrific learning experience playing on the road against a quality opponent. Tony has played well in his freshman year and had some exceptional stretches recently. He needs to work on his defense and getting better body-balance on his drives to the basket, playing more consistently off of two feet, to allow for more consistent finishing through contact. We like that Tony can score in a variety of ways: from long distance, mid-range and at the rim. If he gets his feet under him on his maneuvers to the basket, it will give him the ability to elevate above the rim and play through physical contact to better finish and draw fouls.
On preparation while staying on the road for Wednesday's matchup at Gonzaga…
It's about staying on the grind. We have to focus on getting better. Every game presents a report card, and you look at the game film and box score, and that informs what to emphasize in your next practice. We look at the data and analytics to evaluate what trends are going well, and on the flip side address the areas that are deficient. Then we get on the floor and do the drill-work practice, because that's where change occurs in addressing the deficiencies and improving upon those areas that undermine our ability to win.
