TOREROS CLOSE BUT UNABLE TO TOP GAELS

Attempting to beat No. 17 Saint Mary’s is a tall task on any night but even tougher when you are missing several key players.

That was the situation facing the University of San Diego men’s basketball team Thursday night as leading scorer Marcellus Earlington joined fellow regular starters Eric Williams Jr., Sigu Sisoho Jawara and Jaiden Delaire in warm-up clothes on the bench.

Still, after trailing by 23 early in the second half, the short-handed Toreros nearly fought all the way back and drew within three before St. Mary’s held on for a 62-59 victory.

Saint Mary’s (23-5, 12-1 WCC) has won 18 straight over USD (11-17, 4-10 WCC).

Nic Lynch led USD with 17 points, reserve guard Neel Beniwal scored a seasonhigh 11, Wayne McKinney III (Coronado) added nine and Steven Jamerson II finished with eight points and six rebounds.

The Toreros hung around early and trailed 1211 with 10:23 remaining in the first half but the visitors scored 14 straight and closed the half on a 27-9 run that featured reserve guard Augustus Marciulionis scoring 11 points in eight minutes.

USD also struggled to match 6-10 center Mitchell Saxen, who scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half along with grabbing five of his 10 rebounds.

The best way for the Toreros to pull off a shocking upset? Get hot from the 3point line.

But that didn’t happen as USD went 2-14 from long range in the first half and 624 for the game. Instead it was defense and rebounding that made this one a thriller. SMC didn’t score in the final seven minutes, five seconds.

San Diego’s best chance to make things really interesting for the visitors came with just over a minute left.

With USD trailing 62-56, guard Jase Townsend missed a contested mid-range jumper, and after a Saint Mary’s turnover, McKinney made a layup.

With 20 seconds left, the Toreros applied pressure and nearly forced another turnover but Jamerson was whistled for being on the end line with the ball.

The Gaels successfully inbounded but Marciulionis turned it over. That gave USD the ball with 14.4 seconds remaining, down 62-58.

After precious seconds ticked away, McKinney drove, drew a foul and made one of two free throws with 4.2 remaining.

After USD quickly fouled, Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Beniwal’s heave from threequarters court missed at the buzzer.