Gauchos Keep USD Off Target : * College basketball: Toreros can’t overcome poor shooting in 58-53 loss to UC Santa Barbara.

In a matchup of teams with similar styles, UC Santa Barbara had more style points. Three, to be exact.

In front of a standing-room crowd of 2,500 at the University of San Diego’s Sports Center, the visiting Gauchos on Friday handed USD its first loss, 58-53.

The tooth-and-nail game, tied eight times before UCSB took the lead for good with 4:42 to play, came down to three-point baskets. The one UCSB’s Idris Jones made at the 4:42 mark broke a 45-45 tie.

The two USD missed in the final three minutes cost the Toreros the chance to win or send the game into overtime and dropped them to 2-1. UCSB is 2-0.

The Toreros had to scrap to overcome their 33% field-goal accuracy, and after scoring 49 points in the first two games, Kelvin Woods had an off night, with nine points on two-for-12 shooting.

The Gauchos’ leading scorer, forward Lucius Davis, had no such problems, finishing with 24 points and making nine of 13 shots. Davis’ biggest concern was staying in the game after collecting three fouls in the first half.

But Davis managed to play 18 minutes in the second half, and the Toreros never solved him.

And when they needed a basket down the stretch, the shots seemed to roll tantalizingly around the rim and fall out. Gylan Dottin led the Toreros with 14 points, followed by Wayman Strickland, who made three three-pointers on the way to 11 points but was held out of the lineup much of the second half.

“Both teams have the same style,” Toreros Coach Hank Egan said. “They’re a more mature team, very experienced, and they executed very well. Against a team like that you’ve got to be patient and understand that you’ve got to work very hard. I think we were rushing (offensively). We didn’t seem to be in it for the long haul.”

After Jones’ three-point shot gave the Gauchos a 48-45 lead, the teams traded baskets and the Toreros had a chance to tie it again, but Geoff Probst’s three-point attempt rimmed out, Michael Brown’s follow shot missed, and, after a scramble, Davis was eventually fouled, making two free throws to give UCSB a 51-47 lead with 1:43 to play.

The Gauchos maintained their margin until the 53-second mark, when guard Ray Kelly missed one of two free throws and Probst made two to pull USD to within 55-53.

With 31 seconds left Kelly again made one of two foul shots, and the Toreros set up for one last shot at a tie. Strickland was covered, so the ball was worked around to Woods, who was open at the top of the key and had made both previous three-point shots this season. His shot was off the rim, and Santa Barbara center Sam Robson rebounded and was fouled, making two foul shots for the final margin.

“Hank had four three-point shooters; it was obvious what they wanted to do,” Gauchos Coach Jerry Pimm said. “They got too good a look at it.”

With both teams working methodically for good shots, the Toreros took an 11-5 lead before Davis heated up for six consecutive points, producing the first of three ties in the half at 11. The Gauchos held leads for most of the remainder of the half before Strickland scored four points in a row to tie the game at 22 with 1:44 left. The Gauchos got the half’s last basket to take a 24-22 lead.

The Toreros were fortunate to be that close after shooting 29% in the half, but made up the difference by taking 11 more shots than the Gauchos.

Davis had nine points in the half before sitting out the last 6:50 with three fouls, while Dottin and Strickland scored eight each in the period.

Behind a scoring spurt by Dottin, the Toreros erased a 33-28 deficit and took their biggest lead of the half at 39-37 with 10:40 to play. They held their last lead at 45-43 with 6:41 left.

One of the few categories where the Toreros held an edge was in turnovers; they forced 18, while commiting 12.

“They were into us well,” Pimm said. “They created a lot of those turnovers.”

But, at least in the afterglow of a heated game, Egan wasn’t easily appeased. “I was not happy the way we played defensively at all,” he said. “I’m happy we competed. We didn’t do it right, but we competed.

“We just did not execute at all. This was probably a good game for us in that it exposed some things we need to do better if we’re gonna be competitive in our conference.”

One of those things is improve their shooting. The Toreros were only shooting 42% coming into the game, and Friday’s performance dropped the season figure to 39%. Egan said, “Stats don’t tell the story, but the thing that killed us was our shooting percentage.

“And Davis killed us. He just had a very good night. Pretty good player.”

Woods, who was double-teamed and hounded all evening, also got a dose of reality. “He had one of those nights--I’d say it was a combination of him (being off) and what they did,” Egan said. “It’s gonna be hard for him the rest of the way.”

That may apply to the Toreros in general if more scorers don’t emerge.