USD’s men’s basketball team enters Saturday’s game at Oregon State with a jolt of confidence after opening WCC play with a 75-65 home win over Pacific on Monday and an 81-80 home loss to heavily favored Santa Clara on Thursday.

Coach Steve Lavin’s Toreros (4-11, 1-1 WCC) hopped a charter flight to Corvallis on Friday with a feeling that their two most recent games provided a glimpse of what they can be.

In the loss to Santa Clara (10-6, 2-1), the Toreros overcame 5-of-22 3-point shooting with a spirited effort that saw them break 80 points for the first time this season while nearly coming back from a 13-point second-half deficit.

They also committed a season-low five turnovers while forcing 11.

“The main positive thing to take away is that we’re getting better, not worse, and even though we lost, if you look at the numbers, it was probably our best game,” said sophomore forward Santiago Trouet, who posted 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals against Santa Clara. “We just talked about it in the locker room: we can beat anyone. Maybe five games ago, we didn’t feel that way.”

Oregon State (11-4, 1-1 WCC) is coming off an 82-61 loss at Loyola Marymount on Thursday after opening conference play with an 89-79 win over Portland.

The Beavers are in the first of a two-season run in the conference before joining the new-look Pac-12. They were picked to finish seventh in the WCC preseason poll, one spot ahead of USD.

The challenges get even tougher for USD. Wednesday brings a visit to No. 19 Gonzaga (11-4, 2-0) followed by a home game against Saint Mary’s (12-3, 2-0) next Saturday.

“We come away with a better idea of who we are and what we can become,” Lavin said. “And that’s where growth happens.”

Next up: 3 p.m. Saturday at Oregon State.  TV/streaming: ESPN+.

Sea Lions face matchup for first

Zack Paulsen scored 20 points as Point Loma Nazarene (11-4, 4-1 PacWest) snapped a two-game skid with a 71-60 home win over Fresno Pacific Thursday night.

The Sea Lions host Academy of Art (8-4, 4-1) on Saturday with first place in league on the line.

Thanks to stifling defense and the typical balanced scoring, PLNU defeated the Urban Knights 58-53 in San Francisco on Dec. 7. Academy of Art is coming off an 82-67 win over fifth-place Biola Thursday night.

The Sea Lions and Urban Knights shared the PacWest regular season title last season and were picked to finish first and second in this season’s preseason poll.

Academy of Art’s Rodney Munson ranks third in the conference with 16.1 points per game.

Next up: 4 p.m. Saturday vs. Academy of Art. Golden Gymnasium. Streaming: pacwestnetwork.tv.

Tritons return to Big West

UC San Diego (12–2, 2-0 Big West) is riding a 10-game winning streak and will be heavily favored at Cal State Fullerton (5-10, 0-3) on Saturday.

Ranked No. 10 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, the Tritons are coming off a 109-51 home win over Division III Occidental last Saturday. Fullerton lost 95-65 to fourth-place Cal State Northridge on Thursday.

Next up: 6 p.m. Saturday at Cal State Fullerton. TV/streaming: ESPN+.

Clippers scramble

The NBA G League’s San Diego Clippers (2-1) are coming off a 119-115 loss to Rip City and will continue their season without three key players who signed two-way contracts with different NBA organizations this week.

Forward Tosan Evbuomwon signed with the Brooklyn Nets, guard Elijah Harkless signed with the Utah Jazz and guard RayJ Dennis signed with the Indiana Pacers.

Rookie guard Cam Christie, a second-round pick by the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers out of Minnesota, scored a career-high 38 points in the loss to Rip City.

Christie and other young Clippers will have ample opportunity to show what they can do going forward.

Originally Published: January 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM PST