MALIBU, Calif. – Thursday's 81-88 loss at Pepperdine was a story that the Toreros had seen play out several times this season, having gone down by as much as 19 but making an admirable comeback to trail by just two inside a minute remaining, nonetheless falling narrowly.
 
Another variable that has frequented Torero losses has been prolific 3-point conversions by the opposition. Inside the Firestone Fieldhouse Thursday night, the Waves scored 41% of their points from beyond the arc, shooting the three at a 54.5% clip, a 7-8 start to the game that built separation.
 
The Toreros, however, proved their resilience yet again, clawing back from deficits in the first and second halves, going on 15-1 and 18-2 runs respectively.
 
USD Senior Center Steven Jamerson II posted his second straight 20-plus point, nine rebound performance, scoring a career-best 24 on 10-15 shooting. Grad guard Deven Dahlke tied four career highs with 15 points, five assists, three steals and four rebounds.
 
Sophomore forward Santiago Trouet (12) and freshman guard Tony Duckett (16) also returned to double figure scoring form and were instrumental to the late run, as was redshirt-senior forward Colby Brooks who was +8 with a tied season-best five rebounds in just seven minutes.
 
How it Happened

• The opening lineup featured four different starters compared to last game
• It was a quick-paced game early, the score reading 9-9 at the first media timeout
• Pepperdine would take first advantage on a 10-0 (13-2) run, leading by as much as 14
• The hosts made seven straight 3-pointers – a 7-8 start from deep – while the Toreros missed eight straight
• Jamerson and Pierre would get going and the USD threes began to fall again, the Toreros going on a 15-1 run
• At the half, San Diego trailed by just five, 39-44, while both teams were shooting a 47.1% clip from the field
• At the start of the second period, however, the Waves went on a 12-0 (13-2) run
• Pepperdine played physical, sending the Toreros to the line often and keeping them from making easy field goals
• The Pepp lead grew to as much as 19
• USD stormed back on an 18-2 hot streak, cutting the deficit to three
• Pepperdine answered the call with a 7-0 burst in a span of 1:05
• After bringing the game back to within two inside a minute remaining the Toreros couldn't fully close the gap
• The Waves, who finished the night shooting a measly 59.3% from the charity stripe, converted on their opportunities late to close out the 88-81 result

 
Up Next
The Toreros host San Francisco Saturday at 7 p.m., streaming live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin and USD all-time leading scorer Johnny Dee on the call. San Diego took the NET No. 62 Dons down to the wire in the reverse fixture in the Bay on Jan. 25.
 
Postgame Quotes 
 
Senior Center Steven Jamerson II
 
On his return to strong form…
I don't really think that I was in the desert to begin with. Of course, I did have some bad games prior to these past two good performances, but I just think that I finally found my rhythm and I'm more confident in myself and what I'm capable of doing. So, coming from like just okay performances to now being better, good performances, I'm pretty happy about that. I want to stay consistent with that and just keep on pushing forward, and even so, I can do even better than what I'm doing now.
 
On what's changed in his game…
Confidence, hustle, effort and a clear mind. That's the biggest part. You can have all the talent in the world, but if your mind is not clear and focus on what you need to do and how you need to get better and what you need to do for the team so that they can succeed, you're not going to be the same guy that you're supposed to be.
 
On how he's navigating the narrow losses as a team leader…
All we can do is just keep on moving forward, keep looking to the future. Of course, we all wanted to win tonight. But you know, sometimes life just isn't life that like that. We have another game on Saturday, and I already know myself and the team, we're already looking forward to that, because we want to get that W. Just push this one down and just look forward to the next opportunity to have a W. And that's what I like about this team. This team has so much grit, never giving up always. We're staunch and know what we want and what we believe in. So hopefully we stay with that mindset, and we start getting some wins.
 
Head Coach Steve Lavin
 
Opening statement…
I'm proud of our team for fighting back from deficits in both the first and second half. A 15-1 run in the first half and another 18-2 run in the second half demonstrated our grit and resilience. We also dominated the points in the paint with a decisive 52-26 edge. We struggled to defend Pepperdine's 3-point shooting, and they had 14 offensive rebounds to help their cause. Those two elements were ultimately the deciding factors tonight.
 
On players returning to form…
Deven had the most complete game of his Torero career, and his numbers tonight indicated as much. Steven had an impressive performance at both ends of the court in the basket area. Santiago and Tony contributed significantly with an aggressive, opportunistic approach during our 18-2 second half run.