Toreros’ Defense Stops Northridge : College basketball: USD’s 80-59 victory is a pay-back for the Matadors’ upset victory last season.

A year ago the University of San Diego men’s basketball team sauntered into Northridge and was upset. The Toreros were intent on avoiding a similar fate Sunday.

They came out scrapping on defense and shot 63% from the field to score an 80-59 victory before 1,161 in the Sports Center for their third consecutive victory.

It took a while for the Toreros (6-3) to put away Cal State Northridge (0-10), playing its second road game in two nights. But the Toreros held Northridge to six field goals in the first half and 31.5% shooting for the evening to take control, especially in the second half.

Backup center Reed Watson led the Toreros with a career-high 17 points, and Gylan Dottin added 15 and Kelvin Woods 11 plus a game-high seven rebounds.

Reserve player David Keeter led the Matadors with 13 points, making three three-point shots as Northridge attempted 17. The only other Northridge player in double figures was reserve guard James Morris, who scored 11 points.

USD Coach Hank Egan said his team was sputtering on offense but took control on defense. “It’s happened in every game we’ve won, it’s been the defense that turned it around for us,” he said. “We’ve been living off the defense.

“Tonight we did not execute offensively, once again. And (Northridge is) a tough team to play--they’re well-coached, they take some risks and they shoot three’s a lot. We’ve had six wins and there hasn’t been a pretty one in the bunch. But some teams are like that.”

With Dottin, a junior, scoring seven of the Toreros’ first 13 points, USD opened a quick 19-9 lead. A redshirt last season, Dottin has been USD’s most consistent player. He agreed with Egan that defense was the difference.

“If we don’t have our defense, we’re in trouble,” he said. “If we dig in on defense it picks the (pace of the) game up, which is beneficial for us.”

But the first half bogged down in fouls and Northridge stayed close by making three-point shots and free throws. The Matadors made only six field goals in the half but four were three-pointers, and they converted 16 of 18 free throws to pull to within 33-28. Keeter had 10 points in the half including two three-pointers.

The Toreros, who shot 70% in the half, finished with a flurry, sparked by several steals, to take a 43-32 lead at intermission. Watson had 12 points and Dottin 11.

USD began to pull away midway through the second half, using an 11-4 run to build a 59-41 lead. The Matadors never seriously threatened again, though they stayed within sight by continuing to shoot three-pointers. The final margin was the largest of the game.

Despite the victory, the Toreros looked tentative on offense--particularly Wayman Strickland, who was a reserve for the first time this season as Egan started Michael Brown at shooting guard. Strickland, a starter for most of his four-year career, attempted only three shots. Brown, a senior who started last season, responded to the start with eight points and six rebounds.

The Toreros took only 49 shots but made 31. They also made 16 of 21 free throws and outrebounded the Matadors, 32-28.

“Offensively we want to be smart and aggressive,” Egan said “Tonight we were more smart than aggressive. You can’t get away with that against some teams. Wayman usually plays well off the bench. Michael’s been struggling and we were trying to get him off the schneid. Not starting’s never bothered Wayman but tonight it did.”

Egan didn’t bother reminding the team about last year’s 83-73 fiasco, which came amid a four-game losing streak. “I was gonna say something, but I heard them talking about it, so I let it be ‘cause they had it in mind,” he said.

Dottin, who viewed last year’s game in street clothes, said it served as motivation: “We didn’t get after it last year, we didn’t take ‘em seriously. This team really did it to us last year, so it was a revenge-type thing. They were hungry. They were hungry tonight, too. For a team (that was) 0-9, they really play hard. They gave us an eye-opener.”

But this time, the Toreros weren’t giving any morsels away and Northridge left the gym still hungry.