USD Defeats Lehigh in Tournament

The University of San Diego men’s basketball team won its opener Saturday night, defeating Lehigh, 68-58, in the first round of a tournament at the University of New Mexico.

USD plays New Mexico, a 96-71 winner over Loyola of Maryland, tonight at 8.

Craig Cottrell’s game-high 21 points helped the Toreros erase a 30-24 halftime deficit. USD shot 38% in the first half but improved to 56% in the second.

“Our shooting was off in the first half,” Torero Coach Hank Egan said. “They threw a lot of multiple defenses at us. We played much better defense in the second half.”

USD made a 12-4 run at the beginning of the second half and took a 36-34 lead with 14:14 remaining. Cottrell scored 7 points during that stretch.

Lehigh scored 7 in a row to retake the lead, 41-36, with 11:34 remaining.

USD came back again and took the lead for good on a 3-point jump shot from the top of the key by Gylan Dottin, a 6-5 freshman guard.