SAN DIEGO – The visiting LMU Lions bested the Toreros Saturday afternoon by a final score of 78-62 inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
San Diego had one of it's best starts of the season, going up by as much as eleven, but deflated thereafter by an 18-0 and 25-2 run by the Lions and poor shooting from the hosts.
 
Senior center Steven Jamerson II had the Toreros first double-double since Jan. 2, posting a career-high 15 rebounds and 11 points. He was one of three San Diego double-digit scorers, none more than redshirt-freshman guard Joey Chammaa's 13. USD out-rebounded LMU by six, by eleven on the offensive glass and bested them 20-2 on second chance points.
 
How it Happened

• It was the same starting five for a sixth straight game, facing the same team that the group got it's first start together against
• A fast-paced game to start, San Diego led 7-6 at the first media timeout
• The Toreros would go on an 11-0 run, ignited by freshmen guard Tony Duckett and Chammaa
• USD would try to extend its lead, but LMU would always answer with timely shots
• San Diego did go on an 8-0 run with a 3-3 field goal streak, leading 33-22 with under six minutes to go in the first half
• Things would go south from there as the Lions ended the first half on an 11-0 run, seeing a 35-35 tie at the break
• LMU also opened the second half on a 7-0 run, an 18-0 and 25-2 run in all
• San Diego didn't make a field goal in the last 5:06 of the first half and first 8:21 of the second, a total 12:27 and 0-20 shooting split
• Sophomore guard Neel Beniwal (season-high three rebounds and a score), senior Bendji Pierre and redshirt-senior Colby Brooks provided relief off the bench, but it wasn't enough
• The Lions grew their lead to as much as 19 around the three-minute mark
• Sophomore guard Nick del Bosque made his home debut

 
Up Next
The Toreros hit the road again for a three-game stretch, beginning with a trip to Nor Cal for a matchup at Pacific on Thursday at 7 p.m. and USD's last remaining Quadrant 1 opponent Santa Clara on Saturday at 4 p.m.. San Diego's lone conference win was over the Tigers and USD fell narrowly 80-81 in its first meeting with the Broncos.
 
Postgame Quotes
 
Head Coach Steve Lavin
 
Opening statement…
Well, I thought in the first 15 minutes, our team played as well as they have all season long, our defense, our aggressiveness, really beat LMU on the boards, controlled the paint, and just played with great energy. The ball was popping. We were making the extra pass, getting high percentage shots. But the last five minutes of the half, after we built an 11-point lead, Loyola went on a run to tie the game. And so, we had some contested twos, we turned the ball over some and that was enough to get Loyola out in transition to be able to go on that 11-0 run and kind of seize the momentum to finish the half. Then they came right out in the second half, and in the first eight minutes they continued their run, a 7-0 run, and what ultimately ended up being a 25-2 run over a 13-minute period between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. And that was it, that was all she wrote. We never really counter punched. They are an experienced team, and I thought you could see that in their counter punching and the run that they went on. Our youth showed itself. Both offensively, we forced some shots, we drove the ball into crowds and then tried to pass the ball into the crowd, instead of getting windows and getting better spacing, where we could pass the ball out of a crowd, instead of trying to pass it into a crowd. Then also defensively, that when you're having a night or stretch within a game where you're in the desert, you're not shooting the ball well, you've got to still hold the rope defensively and not allow a team to boat-race and go on a 25-2 run, and our lead quickly evaporated, and Loyola closed out in strong fashion. So, hats off to them. And a report card for us, in terms of understanding how to close halves, and how to start halves. We always talk about how there are four, five-minute segments. The whole game is important. But you start a game by setting a tone and opposing your will on an opponent. The first five minutes, you close a half, and you want to go into halftime with momentum. By those last five minutes, imposing your will and finishing in a strong fashion, then you've got to start the second half and seize the momentum, or sustain it, or get it back if you lost it. In our case, this half, we lost that momentum, and then down the stretch, obviously, games are decided so often in those final five minutes. So, I thought for 15 minutes we played terrific basketball, and then for 25 minutes, Loyola [Marymount] counter-punched, and that was all she wrote. 
 
On the upcoming games versus Pacific and Santa Clara… 
Yeah, I think with us, you know, we understand we're one of the youngest teams in the country, and it's just about getting better. We naturally want to punch through to the winner's circle. We want to win games and get off the snide. We'll continue to examine different schemes, offensively and defensively, we naturally are going to look at lineups, what lineups will provide us the chance to be competitive. For the most part, we have been competitive in games, but our youth shows itself still sometimes, with the self-inflicted wounds. Not necessarily the number of turnovers, but sometimes the timing of the turnovers that are critical, or missed opportunities at point-blank range where we don't finish or complete an inside shot, a high percentage look. I also think we've got to share the ball more.
 
Today, we forced some shots, some contested twos, which will undermine your chance to be successful at this level; threes and layups or high percentage shots, contested twos are not good. We took a lot of contested twos. If you look at our numbers in terms of the backcourt and the perimeter, we had anemic numbers in terms of shooting percentage, but that was tied into our judgment. We've got to be able to share the ball, find the open man and make good choices, make winning decisions. Again, it's a process with a young group and I understand that being patient but also bringing the appropriate fire. We tried different combinations, we used our bench, we substituted liberally, just trying to get a combination out there that would be effective. Again, the positive is let's build on the 15 minutes that we played terrific basketball, but we've got to minimize runs. We're not going to shut a team out, but let's minimize the runs. If a run is 5-0, and then we counter or it's 8-3 that's one thing, but 25-2 is a run that's going to put you in a position where it's an insurmountable deficit, so we've got to hang tough with our defense, and offensively be more efficient.