University of San Diego men’s basketball team got to a solid start against the Oregon Ducks but faltered in the second half for a 65-55 loss in Eugene, Oregon.
The Toreros (8-3) was dominating for the first 16 minutes of the game, holding a nearly 10-point lead, 29-20, and committing only one turnover. In the last four minutes of the first half, USD committed six turnovers and allowed an 11-3 run by the Ducks (6-3) to cut the lead to 31-30.
Coming into the game, USD’s coach Sam Scholl knew that Oregon’s 7-foot-3 freshman center Bol Bol, the son of NBA legend Manute Bol, would be a challenge. He was right.
Bol had 20 points, nine rebounds and blocked four shots against the Toreros. He did most of his damage in the second half, helping to push the Ducks’ lead to eight points four times during the course of the game. Even so, it was the Ducks’ defense that won them the game.
Isaiah Pineiro, USD’s leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, was held to 14 points while the Toreros was held to their worst 3-point shooting percentage of the season (25 percent) and 41 percent shooting from the field — the second lowest shooting percentage of the season.
Oregon held USD held to 34.6 percent shooting in the second half.
Olin Carter III scored 12 points for the Toreros and Tyler Williams had 11.
With the loss, Torreros missed their chance for the best start to a season since joining Division I in the 1979-80 season.
Up next, USD returns home to host Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. Saturday.