PORTLAND, Ore. – San Diego men's basketball fell in the final game of its regular season, 87-74 on the road to Portland on Saturday evening.

USD led by as much as 14 in the second half before a 22-0 Pilot run flipped the game around. USD had solid numbers across the board offensively but were thwarted by untimely turnovers and a lapse on defense.

The result locks the Toreros in as the No. 11 seed in the WCC Tournament. They will face the 10 seed – either Portland for a second game in a row or LMU – in the first round of the conference's postseason ladder in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 5.

In Saturday's affair San Diego shot a suitable 53.6% from the field and 42.9% from three and dished out a whopping 24 assists. The visitors held UP to 37.5% from the floor, 12.7% from deep in the first half, but the Pilots rebounded with game-changing 69% and 66.7% splits respectively in the second period.

Leading the Toreros in scoring was Assane Diop with 16. Fellow junior forward Vuk Boskovic posted career highs 14 points and seven assists, going 4-6 from beyond the arc. Redshirt-freshman forward Gavin Ripp continued his run of form with a career-best 13 points while former Pilot turned USD senior guard Juanse Gorosito finished with 11 points.

How it Happened

-       The Toreros shot out of the gates on an 11-3 run, making each of their first five field goals

-       The hosts stuck with USD with a field goal stretch of their own, but then went into an 0-8 lull

-       A roller coaster of a first half concluded with the Toreros leading by four points, 36-32, with 14 assists on the 15 field goals and zero trips to the free throw line

-       Similar to the first, San Diego came out of the locker room hot to start the second half, this time going on a 13-4 run after back-to-back Boskovic triples

-       USD led by 14 when Portland ignited on a 15-0 run (eventually 22-0) to take its first lead of the day, with 12:10 remaining

-       Ripp ended the drought, scoring seven of the Toreros' next nine points to trim their newfound deficit to two points

-       UP's shooters, however, did not cool down, ending the game on a remarkable 17-21 (81%) line from the floor to close out a 13-point contest

Up Next

USD will be the No. 11 seed for the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas and will face the 10 seed – either Portland or LMU – in the first round at ______ on Thursday, March 5. An LMU win over Seattle U on Saturday night would put the Toreros up against Seattle U while a Lion loss would put the two SoCal schools against each other.