USD Has Too Much for USIU

The University of San Diego improved to 19-4 Thursday night with a 113-72 nonconference victory over United States International University in front of 2,075 fans at the USD Sport Center.

USD, which leads the West Coast Athletic Conference by two games over Gonzaga, returns to conference play Saturday night here against St. Mary’s.

The Toreros’ ninth straight victory was a mismatch from the opening tip. USD held leads of 9-0, 34-6, 45-8 . . . and so on.

“We came out and just exploded,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “We had more weapons than they did to begin with, and then we just played awfully well.”

At the end of the first half, the Toreros led, 56-19.

USIU, which suffered a scoreless streak of 8:10 and an 11:03 stretch without a field goal, was shooting 13% (5 for 37) at halftime. The Gulls’ leading scorer, Joe Yezback, was 0 for 11 in the first half. He finished 4 of 23 for 8 points.

The rout had Egan thinking about his counterpart, USIU Coach Gary Zarecky, and back to some of the losing days when Egan coached at Air Force.

“One time, we were on regional television against Texas El Paso and we were down, 40-11, at halftime,” Egan said. “So, I remember.

“And things got worse for me that game. I went out on the floor to try and get a technical foul and I slipped. There I was on the floor, and the TV cameras are right on me.”

At least Zarecky got out of the Sports Center Thursday night on his feet. USIU (8-15) has lost four straight, but the Gulls remain within their coach’s preseason goal of 10 victories with five games left. USIU’s roster includes six freshman, one sophomore and two seniors.

“I still think we’re right where we want to be,” Zarecky said. “We’ve created some waves, and I think some people’s expectations are getting a bit ahead of us. We just ran into an awesome USD team.”

As the score continue to mount in the first half, Zarecky continued to go to his bench in an attempt to find somebody to slow USD’s express.

But he found no one.

“They played as good as basketball as I’ve seen in a long time,” Zarecky said. “A loss like this leaves a real sour taste in my mouth. It just motivates me to work harder.”

The Toreros have been working hard all season, only their results have been more positive.

The 113 points marked the first time in school history the Toreros had scored more than 100 at the Division I level.

USD, which went Division I in 1979, can achieve its first 20-victory season by defeating St. Mary’s Saturday.

“I don’t know if a game like this prepares us well for Saturday or not,” Egan said. “Ask me again after Saturday.”

One thing the blowout did do was give some of Egan’s reserves a chance to play.

Guard Craig Cottrell and forward Charlie Wickstrand each scored 14 points, both career highs. Center Jim Pelton had 10 points.

Most of the Toreros’ regulars rested. Nils Madden scored a game-high 20 points but sat out most of the second half. Scott Thompson, USD’s 7-foot center, played only 15 minutes and scored 5 points.