SAN DIEGO — USD men's basketball hosts the Oregon State Beavers at the Jenny Craig Pavilion Saturday evening as a part of Coaches vs. Cancer: Suits and Sneakers week.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin (PxP, X: @JackCroninPXP) and Braden Surprenant (X: @b_surp) calling the action. Inside coverage can also be found on the @USDMBB social channels.
COACHES VS. CANCER: LAVIN'S A CHAMPION IN THE FIGHT
In Saturday's game, USD also participates in Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that unites basketball coaches nationwide for a common cause: saving lives from cancer by promoting the importance of regular screening and end cancer as we know it, for everyone.
For head coach Steve Lavin, Coaches vs. Cancer has a more literal and personal significance. Not only has the fourth-year Torero headman had family members battle various forms of the disease, but he has too. Lavin had prostate cancer for parts of 2011-12, sidelining him from the sidelines for the vast majority of that season while head coach at St. John's.
Lavin has become a champion in the fight vs. cancer. Beyond coming out on top in his own bout with the perilous disease, he has helped others in their fights too. He has remained heavily involved in cancer research and early-detection awareness. Since 2010, he has raised more than $1.5 million for Coaches vs. Cancer and The V Foundation. He is a part of The V Foundation President's Club and in 2022, he was awarded the Michelle Carew Spirit Award by the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation.
THE BEAVERS RUNDOWN
• Oregon State is 11-12 on the season and 4-6 in West Coast Conference play (T-8th) similar to the Toreros
• USD trails in the all-time series 1-4 against the temporary WCC opponent, 1-1 in America's Finest City, winning 82-71 in the two sides' first ever encounter on Dec. 2, 2000 in San Diego
LAST TIME OUT
- With their backs to the wall at the Firestone Fieldhouse, USD men's basketball overcame a late second-half deficit to beat Pepperdine in overtime, 92-88 Wednesday night.
- Trailing by nine points with over four minutes remaining and star point guard Ty-Laur Johnson fouled out of the game, ESPN's computer analytics had San Diego at a 6.3% chance to win.
- The Toreros had other ideas, however, going on a 9-0 run and even taking the lead late, seeing the game go to overtime. The visitors rode the momentum into OT and never looked back again claiming a road victory out of a game that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.
- While five Toreros scored in double figures, two performances stuck out. Grad guard Toneari (season-high 21 points) was clutch for USD, three of his five threes on the night coming in the closing minutes of regulation and in overtime.
- Not far removed from his triple-double, junior forward Assane Diop had another monster day on the hardwood, going for career-highs 17 rebounds, 21 points (on 9-for-10 field goal shooting, 2-of-2 from three) and two blocks in almost 40 minutes played.
- A mediocre shooting night on both sides was edged by San Diego's near-perfect overtime execution in which it went 3-4 from the field, 2-3 from three and 9-10 at the charity stripe while the Waves were just 4-12 on field goals and 1-7 from deep in the extra period.
- The hosts got off to an efficient shooting start while Diop had nine of San Diego's first 11 points
- Thereafter, the Toreros would go into a 1-14 field goal lull to fall behind
- USD only trailed by five at half, however, at 38-33
- A burst out of the gates in the second half led by a pair of birthday boy Juanse Gorosito 3-pointers saw San Diego take a brief lead, but fell behind again in another field goal drought
- Pepperdine extended this time to a game-high lead of 10 points with eight minutes remaining
- With 4:42 remaining, the Toreros still trailed by seven, but went on a 9-0 run to take a lead again just outside two minutes remaining
- The teams would exchange blows with both having chances at winners to end regulation, but the second half would come to a close at 75-75
- Momentum, Lane 3-pointers and excellent free-throw shooting down the stretch proved the difference in overtime for the Toreros to pull out the 99-82 win
NOTABLE VS. PEPPERDINE
- It was San Diego's first overtime game since a Dec. 20, 2022, 92-84 win in OT at UC Riverside
- Five Toreros finished in double figure for a third time this season, second in the last three (Assane Diop, 21; Toneari Lane, 21; Ty-Laur Johnson, 16; Adrian McIntyre, 14; Juanse Gorosito, 10)
- USD finished on the plus-end of rebounding over its opponents for the third time in the last four games, scoring 20 second-chance points
- San Diego claims its first win of the season when trailing at halftime, previously 0-10
A PROGRAM RECORD FROM DEEP
• San Diego hit 15 3-pointers in a 96-92 win over Washington State on Jan. 21, tied most in a single-game for the team, the fourth time doing so, first since Feb. 8, 2018 vs. Pepperdine ... Seven Toreros combined on the record as the team went 15-28 (53.6%) from beyond the arc, shooting 63.6% from deep in the second half
TRIPLE-DOUBLE AND A 30-BURGER IN THE SAME GAME
• A triple-double by Assane Diop and a 32-point effort from Tim Moore Jr. highlighted the Toreros' 113-67 win over Bethesda on Jan. 17 to round out conference play
• Diop had never had a double-double in his collegiate career but did one better with his 15-rebound, 11-point, 10-assist effort, plus four steals, finishing a whopping plus-51 in the game in 33 minutes played
• Moore posted the career high scoring effort by making each of his first 10 field goal attempts and all 12 at the charity stripe, also logging two blocks and five rebounds in just 25 minutes ... The Houston native's 25 in the first half alone was more than a Torero had scored in a game this season while he became the fifth Torero to attempt 12 or more free throws in a game and make all of them, one shy of the record ... The next game, a win vs. Washington State, Ty-Laur Johnson scored 26 points in the second half (career high 28 total) to make it two straight games that a Torero had scored 25-plus in a half
TY-LAUR'S TAKEOVER, TAKEAWAYS
• In conference play, 6-foot, 155-pound Ty-Laur Johnson ranks third in the WCC in scoring average at 19.8 points and is first in steals with 3.0 per game (nearly one more than next best), fourth in assists at 5.7
• The Brooklyn native led the Toreros to a WCC-opening 66-54 victory over NET No. 101 Pacific on Dec. 28 ... Johnson was 6-13 from the field, a career-best 5-8 from three, and 5-6 from the line as his 22 points were one shy of his USD season best ... He also swiped six steals, which tied for the second most by a Torero in a single game, just one shy of the San Diego record
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