All five starters for the San Diego Toreros scored in double figures, as they managed to outlast the Pepperdine Waves, 76-69, in the West Coast Conference regular season finale at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Johnny Dee led the way with 14 points for USD (14-17, 7-9 WCC), while Chris Manresa, Ken Rancifer and Christopher Anderson all netted 13 points. Cameron Miles rounded out balanced effort with 10 points, and he and Anderson combined for 11 assists as the Toreros snapped a five-game losing streak.
Lorne Jackson poured in a game-high 22 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists for Pepperdine (12-17, 4-12). Jett Raines scored 13 points, Stacy Davis put up 12 points and Jordan Baker added 10 points for the visitors.
After a back-and-forth first half, USD took a 37-34 lead into intermission after Miles connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Both squads shot greater than 50 percent from the field in the opening stanza.
The teams exchanged a handful of leads early in the second half before the Toreros took a 59-56 advantage on a Rancifer 3-pointer with 8:06 remaining, and while they never led by more than eight down the stretch, they also never surrendered the lead.
Both teams took great care of the basketball, with USD committing just six turnovers and Pepperdine coughing it up only five times.
Game Notes
