Group Effort Will Be Necessary for USD to Beat San Francisco

Another one of those bigger, stronger and quicker basketball teams will arrive at the USD Sports Center tonight to play the University of San Diego Toreros, who thought they saw enough good athletes last weekend at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.

The Toreros, who lost to Loyola, 115-75, and Pepperdine, 92-77, play host to the University of San Francisco at 7:30 p.m.

“The one thing we learned during the first two games is that we have to play together,” said USD Coach Hank Egan, whose team is 0-2 in the West Coast Athletic Conference. “If we’re going to play me-against-them basketball, it’s not going to work. We have to commit to us against them.”

USF, like Loyola and Pepperdine, is athletically superior to USD. The Dons (10-5, 2-0) will run, trap on defense and try to force turnovers, of which USD had 46 in its first two conference games.

Mark McCathrion, a 6-foot 8-inch all-conference forward, leads USF in scoring (15.5) and rebounding (6.1).

“We don’t have anyone who can handle him one-on-one,” Egan said. “That’s why we have to commit to a team game.”

USD forward Mike Haupt, who missed the first two conference games because of a death in the family, will return to the starting lineup. He leads the team in rebounding with a 6.5 average.

Craig Cottrell will continue to start at guard in place of Efrem Leonard, who played some before he sprained his left ankle in the Pepperdine game.