SAN DIEGO — San Diego ran off 18 straight points early and cruised to a 79-62 win over Biola on Monday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, giving JR Blount his first official victory as the Toreros' head coach.
Biola (0-0, 0-0 PacWest) led only once, on a 3-pointer 50 seconds in. Jevon Hill answered with a 3-pointer off a Davion Hill assist, starting an 18-0 run that put San Diego (1-0, 0-0 WCC) up 20-3 with 13:37 left in the first half. Biola went 5:45 without a point, missing all six of its shots and committing six turnovers in that stretch, four on Torero steals. The Toreros led by double figures the rest of the way.
Marqui Worthy Jr. scored four straight points on a driving layup and two free throws during the run, and Terry McMorris turned a steal into a fast-break dunk off a feed from freshman Chace Holley. Holley capped it with five straight points, taking a defensive rebound the other way for a layup and finishing a three-point play. He scored all 10 of his points in the first half on 3-of-3 shooting and 4-of-4 at the line.
Sekou Konneh's dunk off a Worthy assist made it 37-15 with 6:42 left before halftime, the Toreros' largest lead of the night. San Diego shot 15-of-26 in the first half, held Biola to 7-of-25 and took a 43-29 lead into the break.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut it to 43-32 and got back within 11 at 47-36 with 16:55 left. Dusty Stromer's two free throws started a 7-0 answer, and Worthy finished it with a layup and a 3-pointer, both off Jose Roberto Tanchyn assists, for a 54-36 lead with 14:15 to go. Worthy scored 11 of his 15 points after halftime.
Konneh had 10 of his 15 points after the break, finishing three alley-oops, two from Davion Hill and one from Stromer. He also ran out for a dunk off a Davion Hill steal and scored on a putback the next time down, making it 65-44 with 8:46 left, San Diego's biggest lead of the second half.
Four Toreros scored in double figures, led by Konneh and Worthy with 15 points apiece in less than 20 minutes each. Konneh made 7 of 11 shots and grabbed seven rebounds, and Worthy went 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line.
Stromer added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a team-high three steals, and Holley had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Davion Hill chipped in nine points and a team-high four assists, and Tanchyn had six points and seven rebounds.
San Diego outscored Biola 50-14 in the paint, and all 25 of its two-point baskets came inside. The Toreros shot 50% from the field, out-rebounded the Eagles 40-30, assisted on 18 of their 29 field goals and got 25 points from their bench. Biola shot 32.7% and went 9-of-34 from 3-point range.
UP NEXT
San Diego hosts Tarleton State on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on ESPN+. Tickets are on sale now.
