USD BREAKS LOSING STREAK

USD had not won a game since Dec. 16. The Toreros opened West Coast Conference play with three narrow losses and played the last two games with only seven scholarship players because of COVID-19 protocols.

A team in dire need of a win found the ideal opponent Saturday: the Portland Pilots.

Ranked 296th in the Kenpom metric, the Pilots came in on a five-game losing streak of their own.

Make it six straight. Taking advantage of the host Pilots’ lack of size, USD attacked the basket relentlessly and left the Chiles Center with a 78-70 victory.

It was USD’S first win in 39 days and snapped a fourgame losing streak.

“We celebrated a little more than we usually do,” head coach Sam Scholl said by phone. “Jumping around, bumping into each other, hitting guys, high-fiving. That’s because these guys, a group of nine (the seven scholarship players and two walk-ons) ... they never made any excuses.”

Included in the five scholarship players who missed the previous two games were leading scorer Joey Calcaterra and top rebounder Yauhen Massalski.

Calcaterra returned while the other four did not travel with the team. The Toreros were dealt another challenge Saturday when third-leading scorer Frankie Hughes missed the game for what Scholl called “personal family matters.”

Despite again playing with a short bench, USD (2-6, 1-3) won by making the undersized Pilots pay. The game’s most revealing stat was points in the paint: USD 52, Portland 28.

The Toreros came into the game shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 321st in the nation. Saturday they hit 31 of 55 shots, 56.4 percent.

“That was our game plan. Attack, be relentless on the glass,” said graduate transfer Josh Parrish.

The muscular 6-foot-4 Parrish took advantage down low, scoring a season-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and was one of five Toreros in double figures. Calcaterra scored 12, Marion Humphrey 11 while Finn Sullivan and Vladimir Pinchuk added 10 each.

While USD led by 17 with 9:29 to play, the game got dicey near the end when Portland pulled to 76-70 with 1:45 remaining. But the Pilots (6-9, 0-6) missed their final two shots and Calcaterra iced the game with 31.1 seconds to go on two free throws.

“With all we’ve been through, to finally get a win, see something good for you, it felt good,” said Parrish. “It’s a testament to how hard we’ve been working, staying with the process.”