Let's face it, there have not been many positives with the way this season has turned out. USD fans and students alike started the season with high expectations and, from the looks of things last week, many of these expectations seemed as if they would pan out in vain. Yet USD, once again, proved to us that we can never know what to expect from this team and that we should never give up on our squad.
Coming into the bay area road trip, USD began to look much more encouraging. An overtime win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road and a home blowout (until the last five minutes that is) against the Marshall Thundering Herd proved to be small comforts in a season that has provided many dissappointments. Going into the weeked, USD was looking at a 6-7 record (8-7 if you count two victories over San Diego Christian and Academy of the Art, two wins that the selection committee will not count if we are even given a look for the NCAA tournament). Many hoped that we would be able to sweep two crucial road games against San Francisco and Santa Clara, but a realist would have considered the scenario unlikely as road wins are hard to come by in the WCC and any conference for that matter.
San Francisco, led by first year head coach Rex Walters, has had its share of difficulties in the non conference portion of the season. Glaring losses to Holy Cross and Cal Poly San Louis Obisbo were matched by a "good loss" to the USC Trojans by 5 at the Galen Center and relatively impressive victories at Boise State and at home against Big West favorite UCSB.
Led by last years WCC scoring champion and this years current leader PF Dior Lowhorn, the key to defeating the Dons rested in shutting down the post. Gyno Pomare did just that limiting the junior to only four points in the first half. Though Lowhorn finished the game with a solid 18, the damage was already complete. USD started the game 8-9 from the field including 3-3 trey bomb shooting from sophmore point guard Trumaine Johnson. Possesing a 9 point lead at the half, USD never looked back. A 65-50 win over the Dons put the Toreros into conference play on the right foot. Johnson finished the game with a career high 22 points on 8-12 shooting. Pomare added a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Rob Jones contributed 10 points and 8 boards.
As a whole, the Toreros played their best game of the year against the Dons. Teamwork highlighted by excellent passing and great defense proved tough to beat and the Dons learned that it would be no cake walk finishing third in the WCC as many experts had predicted. USD proved in this game that Trumaine is capable of carrying the load left void by senior hero Brandon Johnson. Everyone played well and within the offense and it really turned out well for us.
Santa Clara, led by second year head man and former UCLA assistant Kerry Keating, has shared many of San Francisco's difficulties. The Broncos have beaton UTEP (the only team to defeat the Saint Mary's Gaels this season) and Belmont (a contender as always in the wide open Atlantic Sun) but have fallen to New Hampshire and numerous other Pac-10 and SEC opponents. Though the Broncos record is not excellent at 7-11, many of their struggles can be attributed to a rigorous SOS that ranks 84th in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy.
The game against the Broncos could not be more of a different contest than the USF game. Where the Toreros started out hot against the Dons, the team was ice cold against a tougher and more athletic Santa Clara team. The first half could not have been more of a defensive battle as USD scored a season low 17 on their way to a six point deficit. The single digit deficit could only be considered as lucky with the team only making 2 of their first 11 shots.
The team came out and battled back in the second half despite the loss of junior De'Jon Jackson to a shoulder injury. Danny Brown provided a spark with 5 quick points. Rob Jones easily played his best and most aggressive game of the season scoring 17, many late in the second half during crunch time. Gyno added a typical 19 and Trumaine put the team up for good with only 30 seconds left. The game was highlighted by a technical foul on Santa Clara point guard Perry Petty after a good and tough defensive foul by Trumaine. An elbow to Trumaines head gave Gyno a chance to sink two free throws and sink them he did.
Overall, the team proved a lot of things to me this week. The first is that we are much more confident in our game. For the first four games after losing Brandon, I seriously had my doubts about where this season was going. The team has done an excellent job of coming together and filling the gaps. You can never replace a BJ, but the game must go on.
The team also proved that it can win ugly. We played like absolute shit today, yet our desire and perserverance got us the win. We will not get away with that type of performance against a Saint Mary's or a Gonzaga, but the fact that we hung in there with SCU after a terrible first half really tells a lot about the fight in this team. We probably will not make the NCAA tournament this year, but that fight is still there. This team still believes in miracles.
Stay tuned. Pepperdine and LMU are next. Cupppppppppppcake city!
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Trumaine Johnson is a huge part of that team right now. His return seems to have sparked something in the Toreros. He's shooting 51% from the field and 50% from downtown, playing solid defense (6 steals in a nailbiter against Miss. State- a game where Pomare shot 4-17 and every possession counted). The steps Johnson has taken since last year are huge; just think of what he'll play like next year, with increased confidence and health.
ReplyDeleteWe're looking for USD bloggers at www.collegefanz.com, the largest college sports site on the internet. We already have USD fans but nobody blogging consistently about them.
Our site offers the same voice and audience to all bloggers and programs, big or small. That's why I think you'll find a solid readership there. You seem to be passionate about the WCC which can be kind of hard to find these days.
Take a look around and let me know what you think at mgleeson@collegefanz.com. I hope to hear from you soon.
Mike
(PS- also, how do you feel about McCollum committing to USD? Early signs pointed to Purdue, he's a talented kid with good ball skills)