SAN JOSE, Calif. — USD men's basketball is set for its second consecutive road tilt of the season as it faces San Jose State in the Bay Area on Friday night.
The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network with Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin (X: @JackCroninPXP) calling the action over the radio air waves on USDToreros.com/watch. Inside coverage can also be found on the @USDMBB social channels.
THE SPARTAN RUNDOWN
• San Jose State is 3-5 on the season, having also the same Acrisure Series that the Toreros participated in, going 1-1 over Feast Week, dropping their most recent tilt, vs. UC Irvine, 72-63 on Sunday, Nov. 30
• The Toreros lead the all-time series against San Jose State 8-6, with the last two matchups being away from home, most recently starting the 2017-18 campaign with an 81-64 victory, before that, a neutral site matchup in Anchorage, Alaska which SJSU took 76-67 on Nov. 27, 2015 ... In six visits to San Jose, USD has won all but one game (Nov. 23, 2005)
• USD redshirt-freshman forward Gavin Ripp hails from San Jose suburb Los Gatos, Calif. ... Head Coach Steve Lavin is a native of nearby San Francisco and redshirt-junior forward Emmanuel Callas of Oakland
THE RELAUNCH
• With a reloaded roster of 14 newcomers and the unprecedented investments being made in the program both financially and through support staff and new facilities, the 2025-26 campaign is being described as 'the relaunch' of USD Men's Basketball under fourth-year head coach Steve Lavin
LAST TIME OUT
- The Toreros led with 25 seconds remaining inside LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid Sunday evening before ultimately falling on the road to Long Beach State, 76-72.
- Freshman guard Brandon Benjamin led USD in scoring in just his third career game with 16 points off the bench on 7-for-8 shooting, in addition to three assists, three rebounds and a steal.
- San Diego shot 52.6% for the game and out-rebounded their opponents by five – something the team had struggled with in recent games – but untimely turnovers late in the game were costly.
- It was a slow-paced game on both sides to start but USD freshmen made an impact, particularly redshirt-freshman forward Gavin Ripp and Benjamin, making just their first and third appearances of the season respectively
- Long Beach State got out to an early lead off turnovers
- The Toreros then went on a 15-2 run, led by Benjamin and freshman forward D'Arrae Goodwin
- At halftime, San Diego held a 38-34 lead, shooting 55.2% from the field and grabbing eight offensive rebounds
- In the second half, grad forward Tim Moore Jr. finished off three consecutive and-ones, including a put-back poster, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from his teammates to see a game-high eight-point Torero lead
- The Beach stayed in the game through proficient shooting from three, a 40% clip in the second half and 36% for the game
- Both teams would go into a scoring drought late in the game as both teams were scoreless for over five minutes
- With 25 seconds remaining in a one-point game, Long Beach State freshman Gavin Sykes grabbed a loose ball under the basket and laid it in through contact to give The Beach their first lead in 26 minutes, Sykes' 30th points of the game
- The Toreros turned the ball over on their final possession with a chance to take the lead back as Long Beach State converted its free throws, seeing the game through at 76-72
FULL GAME NOTES
