PULLMAN, Wash. — 21 points from both Santiago Trouet and Tony Duckett helped San Diego Men's Basketball flirt with completing the most improbable of comebacks on Thursday night, but the Toreros could not fully erase an early 30-point deficit, falling to Washington State, 93-86

After trailing 49-19 with 3:20 left in the first half and 53-25 at the intermission, USD outscored WSU 61-40 in the second period to record what marked its highest scoring half in more than a year to pull within five points of the Cougars down the stretch at Beasley Coliseum.

San Diego revived it's slow shooting start in the first half by doubling the amount of total field goals made in the second half and buried a season-high nine threes in a half. The hosts however didn't slow down too much from it's 57-plus percent first half from both beyond the arc and from the field, finishing the game 59.6% on field goals and 43.5% from deep.

The Toreros began their comeback efforts in earnest when a three from Kody Clouet with 8:51 remaining got them back within 20 at 79-59. A second-chance hook shot by Trouet followed to cut the deficit to 15 points at 83-68 with just inside of five minutes to play. Trouet scored again with a pair of free throws at the 2:37 mark, and USD was chasing by only 10 at 85-75.

Steven Jamerson II made it a single-digit deficit with a second-chance tip-in dunk with 2:27 left before Joey Chammaa punctuated a late-game San Diego surge with a corner three to pull his team within seven. His driving layup with 40 seconds remaining cut Washington State's lead to only five, 87-82, but the Toreros got no closer.

NOTABLE

• San Diego's 61 second-half points were its most in a half since December 9, 2024, when it also scored 61 in an 89-84 victory over Arizona State at the Jenny Craig Pavilion
• USD made a season-best nine threes in one half, shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc in the second half 
• Jamerson II earned his third double-double of February, totaling 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds (seven on offense and four on defense) ... It's the first USD double-double on the road this season
• It is the first time that multiple Toreros scored 20-plus points in the same game, as Trouet and Duckett scored in the 20's for the second time in their careers and this season
• Trouet's 21 points on Thursday tied his career high, also tying a career high with three steals ... He shot 8-12 from the field and made four of his five free throws
• Duckett also more than doubled his career high in steals, leading the game with five
• Freshman guard Jackson Gaffney logged his first career steal and assists
• USD forced 23 WSU turnovers, notching a season-best 14 steals
• Five-plus Toreros scored in double figures for the fourth time this season
• Chammaa finished with 10 points while shooting 3-5 from the field, 3-4 from the line, and 1-1 from beyond the arc
• Clouet notched his third straight game with double-digit scoring, tallying 11 points

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Saturday, when they return to the JCP to close out their 2024-25 regular-season schedule against Portland in what will mark their Senior Night game. Tip-off against the Pilots is set for 7 p.m.

POST GAME QUOTES

USD Head Coach Steve Lavin
The second half was the most impressive performance we've had as a team this season in putting up 61 points to nearly overcome a 30 point deficit on the road. We had multiple opportunities late in the game to make it a one-possession game. It's an encouraging trait that we consistently demonstrate an ability to come back from deficits with a tenacious and opportunistic approach. 

Moving forward, as we prepare for both our final regular season contest against Portland and the WCC Tournament next week, the objective is to sustain a more efficient perfomance over the course of 40 minutes.