TOREROS SHAKE OFF RUST AND LACK OF FAN ENERGY TO BEAT WHITTIER

USD hadn’t played a basketball game in eight days. The opponent was Division III Whittier. With students away at the semester break, the Sunday afternoon crowd at Jenny Craig Pavilion was even smaller than usual.

As you would expect, there was some rust, even by the players sitting on the bench. When the shot clock hits 10 on USD possessions, the bench normally yells, “Ten ... nine ... eight.”

The first half Sunday? Crickets. By the second half, the bench was counting down and the players on the

Toreros 93, Whittier 67

floor picked up the intensity, turning what was an uneasy game into a 93-67 rout in front of an announced crowd of 1,149.

“They play an unorthodox style, a lot of one-onone,” said head coach Sam Scholl. “Throw in a couple 3s early and they challenge you a little bit. We all knew it’d be kind of an empty gym and we’d have to muster up even more energy.

“We found that energy midway through the second half and pulled away.”

Whittier lists no player taller than 6-foot-7, and the

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Toreros vs. Loyola Marymount Thursday: 7 p.m., Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles

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Toreros (7-8) took advantage of mismatches. Yauhen Massalski, who goes 6-10, scored USD’S first six points and finished with a seasonhigh 17 to go with 10 rebounds. The Toreros dominated the glass, outrebounding the Poets 41-23.

Points in the paint: 44-20. Second-chance points: 24-6.

Asked what it was like to play against a 6-7 opponent, Massalski said, “It doesn’t matter how tall he is. He’s playing basketball. That’s all I care about.”

With 13:56 to play, Whittier pulled to within six, 55-49. The Toreros seemingly put their foot down and said, “Enough.”

USD sank its next six shots, embarked on a 14-0 run, eventually building a 28point lead. The game was an exhibition for Whittier (6-4),

Braun Hartfield led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 5-of-6 on 3-pointers.

“My teammates did a good job of finding me off the press,” said Hartfield. “I did what I’m supposed to be doing, make shots.”

Alex Floresca scored a season-high 14. But the most important development may have been guard Finn Sullivan scoring a seasonhigh 13 points, all in the second half. The Torrey Pines product hit 3-of-6 on 3s.

He came into the game shooting just 32.1 percent, 25 percent behind the arc.

“He’s been hard on himself,” said Scholl. “It’s nice to see some 3s go down.”

The Toreros now embark on West Coast Conference play, beginning Thursday at LMU. Scholl was so excited talking about conference starting that he told his players he got chills just thinking about it.

“I got chills, too,” said Sullivan.

“There’s nothing better than better than conference (basketball),” said Scholl. “Especially when you’re one of the top 10 in the country.”

The WCC is ranked ninth by Kenpom. Joe Lunardi forecasts No. 1-ranked Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and BYU making the NCAA Tournament.

“That level of competition,” said Scholl, “that’s what you play for.”

Norcross is a freelance writer.