USD Basketball Team Takes On Struggling Pepperdine

Thursday night, all was well for the University of San Diego basketball team. The Toreros had put behind them the bad memories of a year ago, defeating Loyola Marymount, 82-48. Loyola beat USD twice last season.

Tonight, the Toreros can make some more amends when they play host to Pepperdine, defending West Coast Athletic Conference champion, in the USD Sports Center at 7:30.

USD was the only conference team to beat Pepperdine last season, winning in San Diego, 69-64. However, when the Toreros played at Malibu, the Waves beat them, 61-60, scoring two baskets in the final 30 seconds to overcome a three-point USD lead. The defeat helped knock USD out of postseason play.

USD can put Pepperdine in a similar position, that is if the Waves aren’t already there. Pepperdine (2-4, 7-12) is coming off a 67-63 loss at St. Mary’s Thursday night.

Other than Eric White (18.8 points per game) and Levy Middlebrooks (15.9), Pepperdine has been able to find little in the way of consistent offense.

The Toreros (6-1, 15-4), who lead the WCAC by a half-game over Gonzaga, have five straight victories and have won 10 of their last 11.