SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Diego Men's Basketball was beat on the road Saturday, 70-93 by a Santa Clara Broncos team that had an extremely efficient shooting day.
 
The Toreros couldn't keep up with SCU's shooting splits of 58.2% from the field and 52.4% beyond the arc, 60.7% and 57.1% respectively in the first half. Senior center Steven Jamerson II led the USD effort and tied a season best with 21 points on 70% shooting and nine fouls drawn.
 
Sophomore guard Nick Del Bosque scored his first career points and fellow second year guard Neel Beniwal nailed two threes to kick off his first career start and an early Torero lead, which was overcome by an 18-0 Santa Clara run.
 
How it Happened

• Beniwal made his first career start and redshirt-senior forward Colby Brooks his second … It was the Toreros 14^th different starting lineup of the season as Beniwal was the 15^th different player to start and seventh for the first time in their career
• Beniwal took advantage of the start, scoring San Diego's first two baskets of the game off 3-pointers
•  After USD led by three, three minutes into the game, Santa Clara would go on an 18-0 run as the Toreros were 0-10 from the field in that stretch
• The Broncos shot 66.7% from the field and 60% from deep in the first 15 minutes of the contest
• Undeterred, USD would answer, going on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit back to nine
• Nonetheless, the hosts would stay out front on dunks and more threes
• At the half, the Toreros trailed 36-48
• It was a slow start to the second half for both teams and fouls persisted
• SCU strong shooting splits also persisted
• Senior forward Bendji Pierre and Jamerson II would get going for San Diego
• A three from redshirt-freshman guard Joey Chammaa cut the deficit down to as little as eight with 11 minutes remaining
• The Broncos went on another 13-0 and 17-3 run
• At the end of the game, Del Bosque scored his first career points on free throws and freshman guard Jackson Gaffney also scored under the basket

Up Next
USD Hoops returns to SoCal, traveling to Malibu to take on Pepperdine on Thursday at 7 p.m. before returning home for the first time in four games Saturday to host talented San Francisco at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15. Both games will stream live on ESPN+ while additional coverage can be found on the @USDMBB social media pages.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Steve Lavin

Opening Statement...
Santa Clara was a difficult matchup for us tonight, as they continued their terrific play of late. We were disappointed with our perimeter defense and lack of resistance at the rim. It was a game of runs. In the first half, Santa Clara had an 18-point run to get out in front before we went on a 10-point run of our own to cut into the deficit. In the second half, we cut their lead down to eight points just inside the 12-minute mark, before they went on a decisive 13 point run to secure the win. The Broncos of late have demonstrated they have the size, depth and firepower to dismantle opponents. If they can stay injury free, I believe they will be an NCAA Tournament team.

On a positive note, Steven Jamerson II had one of the better outings of his career, given the quality of Santa Clara's front line. Additionally, Neel Beniwal in his first career start gave us a shot in the arm with some early marksmanship from long range.