The University of San Diego opened conference play by challenging San Francisco for most of the game, but a late run by the Dons Thursday proved costly in a 70-62 loss.
The Toreros (1-4, 0-1 West Coast Conference) shot 45% from the field and stood toe-to-toe with the Dons (7-4, 1-0 WCC) in a seesaw game that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
USD mounted a late comeback, cutting the lead to six with under a minute to go, but it was not enough.
Josh Parrish led USD with 15 points and eight rebounds. Joey Calcaterra recorded his fifth double-digit game, finishing with 14 points and Yauhen Massalski scored 12 points while adding five rebounds.
The Toreros played tough defense as well, holding the Dons to their second-lowest three-point total and 6-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc.
The teams traded shots early to begin the contest, before the Toreros surged with an 11-0 run to lead 27-17 with 4:29 to go in the first half.
San Diego forced eight first-half turnovers, but the team’s late scoring drought allowed the Dons to pull even at 28-28 with under a minute to play. A quick three by Calcaterra with 35 seconds to go gave the Toreros edge, 31-30, at the half.
The Dons jumped out to a 41-35 lead in the first five minutes of the second half, but USD answered with a three from Frankie Hughes, a three-point play by Parrish and a layup by Vladimir Pinchuk to pull in front again at 43-41.
After San Francisco’s late run, USD chipped away, outscoring San Francisco 7-2 to make it a two-possession game with under a minute to play. However, two free throws by USF effectively iced the comeback.
The Toreros, who returned to action after a pause due to COVID-19, will return home to take on BYU at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The game will air on the WCC Network.
