SAN DIEGO – USD Men's Basketball kicked off the 2025-26 season with a dominant 88-59 win over Occidental Tuesday night behind lights-out shooting in the first half.
 
In the wire-to-wire victory the Toreros shot out of the gates – both figuratively and literally – shooting 62.5% (10-16) from beyond the arc in the first half and never looked back, leading by as much as 40.
 
As a team, USD also posted 22 assists and 11 steals, outscoring the Tigers in bench points 57-12 and on points off turnovers 33-9. 11 different Toreros made multiple field goals and 15 different Toreros grabbed a rebound.
 
Leading the scoring contingent individually were a pair of grad newcomers, guard Toneari Lane (game-high 15 points) and forward Tim Moore Jr. (13 points). Lane scored all of his points in the first half and from beyond the arc, going 5-7 from three.
 
Junior guard Ty-Laur Johnson, an ACC transfer also playing his first game in a USD uniform, tallied eight assists and three steals with six points in just 11 minutes played. New junior international experienced bigs Assane Diop and Piotr Winkowski led San Diego with eight rebounds each.
 
How it Happened

• The first starting five of the season, featured freshman forward D'Arrae Goodwin, senior guard Juanse Gorosito, grad guard Dominique Ford and junior forwards Assane Diop and Vuk Boskovic
• After three straight USD threes going into the first media timeout, the Toreros made a whole five-man line change but continued the hot 3-point shooting to open a 19-7 lead
• A 14-0 run highlighted by three straight Toneari Lane threes expands the lead to 38-13 at the under-eight timeout
• San Diego didn't let up off the gas, leading 57-28 at the half
• After a somewhat back-and-forth start to the second period, the Toreros reignited on another 12-0 run to lead by a game-best 40 points
• With freshmen and walk-ons in the game for the hosts, the Tigers scored eight unanswered points inside seven minutes remaining
• At the final buzzer, the final score read 88-59 in favor of the hosts

 
Notable

• Vuk Boskovic, Piotr Winkowksi, D'Arrae Goodwin, Caleb Versher and Brandon Benjamin each scored their first career collegiate points
• 12 different Toreros made field goals in the contest as 11 made multiple, the most for the team since at least 2017
• 15 different Toreros grabbed at least one rebound
• The Toreros move to 7-0 all-time against Occidental after what was the first meeting between the two teams since the opener in 2010
• Redshirt-junior forward Emmanuel Callas registered a career high three blocks

 
Up Next
The Toreros are back in action for the second of five consecutive home games to start the new campaign with a matchup against the Idaho State Tigers on Friday, Nov. 4. Tip-off inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 6 p.m., streaming live on ESPN+.