USD Needs Weekend Victories to Improve Spot in Tournament

The last time the University of San Diego men’s basketball team played Portland, the visiting Pilots won, 57-54, to end a 21-game losing streak over two seasons.

Of Portland’s final 12 points, Bart Koenitzer, a 6-foot-10 junior center, had eight, plus two assists. USD led, 49-43, with 8 minutes left but scored only five more points.

Tonight in Portland, USD will be the one trying to end a losing streak. The Toreros (6-18 overall, 1-11 in the West Coast Athletic Conference) have lost six in a row and 13 of 14. Portland is 2-23 and 2-10.

Saturday, USD plays Gonzaga in Spokane in the final regular-season WCAC game.

The Bulldogs won the first meeting, 71-66, in overtime to open the conference season. After squandering a 51-46 lead with 6:44 left, USD’s Gylan Dottin scored on a layup at the buzzer to force overtime. Gonzaga’s Doug Spradley scored the last five points to finish with 21.

Gonzaga, which plays host to No. 19 St. Mary’s tonight, is 13-12 and 4-8.

Both games are significant to USD.

If USD wins both, the Toreros will finish in seventh place and face the second-seeded team in the first round of the WCAC tournament March 4-6 in San Francisco.

If Portland defeats USD, the Toreros will finish last in the conference and play the No. 1 team in the tournament.

If USD defeats Portland and both win or lose Saturday, USD and Portland will tie for last and a coin toss will determine first-round opponents.