USD Men Have to Reset Goals

For the University of San Diego men’s basketball team, the time has come to reset goals.

A pair of narrow losses last weekend at Loyola and at Pepperdine have all but eliminated the Toreros (4-4 in league, 14-8 overall) from the West Coast Athletic Conference title chase. Loyola leads the conference at 8-0 and Pepperdine is second at 7-1 with six games to play.

“A lot of people keep asking me if the conference race is over and I’m fighting the question,” said USD Coach Hank Egan, whose team returns home for a 7:30 game tonight against St. Mary’s. “We’ve performed very well all year and it’s my job to make sure we keep playing hard.”

And, as Egan has pointed out, there are still some goals to be reached. If the Toreros can win their last six games, they’ll reach the 20-win mark for the season.

“I’ll be happy if we can end the season the way we began it,” Egan said. “We’ve had some tough losses and we’d like to end back on a high note. And, who knows? If there’s a miracle we could get back in the race.”

USD is one game ahead of Portland, Gonzaga and Santa Clara in third place. St. Mary’s (2-6, 9-12) is tied for seventh with San Francisco.

The Gaels are led by 6-foot 1-inch junior guard Paul Robertson who is averaging 14.9 points per game. Robert Haugen, a 6-7 freshman forward, is averaging 14.0.

USD is led in scoring by 7-foot center Scott Thompson (13.7).