USD Not Gunning for Title : Basketball: Defense, hustle make up strategy for the Toreros.

Does the University of San Diego have a shot at the West Coast Conference basketball title?

It might depend on what night the Toreros play and how long a shot it is.

The Toreros have had shooting problems most of the season, making their 10-6 record all the more respectable. Coach Hank Egan is proving that tough team defense and hustle can overcome more obvious shortcomings.

The Toreros go into tonight’s West Coast Conference game against Portland at the USD Sports Center tied for second in the WCC at 2-1. The style of Portland (8-7, 1-1), a fast-break team that stresses the three-point shot, could provide the Toreros some good scoring opportunities.

When the Toreros shoot better than their team average of 46%, they are almost a lock to win. They are 8-1 when they have made 48% of their shots or better.

But on any given night, they struggle to shoot 40%. In a hard-working offense designed to create good shots, the Toreros have shot worse than 40% five times. The starting guards are hitting 35.4% and 32.4%. Twice the Toreros have been below 30% , most recently in last week’s 46-36 debacle at St. Mary’s. That matchup of the WCC’s top defensive teams produced a 15-12 halftime score.

“I’ve been in 15-12 ballgames when teams tried to hold the ball,” Egan said, “but this time both teams were trying to shoot. I figured at least the second half couldn’t be as bad, but it was.”

In that game, the Gaels packed a tight zone around leading scorers Kelvin Woods and Gylan Dottin, practically daring the guards to shoot from outside. The Toreros’ response was a two-for-16 night from three-point range. Wayman Strickland, the Toreros’ most productive perimeter shooter, was two-for-11 from beyond the three-point stripe.

“One thing this club needs is outside shooting,” Egan concedes.

But Saturday at the University of San Francisco, the Toreros rebounded with a 70-69 victory, shooting 48% and getting a lift from sophomore reserve Neal Meyer, who hit a key three-pointer in each half.

“We played so bad Friday . . . I was worried how they’d come back,” Egan said. “They came back the next night and flat got after it. I like that about this team. This club continues to be very competitive. I guess the kids recover a lot quicker (than the coach).”

But the shooting woes make for some uncertain moments.

Senior guard Michael Brown was in such an offensive slump a month ago that Egan inserted him in the starting lineup, hoping to jump-start his offense and figuring Strickland was a good fit for the sixth-man role.

Brown has had a few good scoring nights but still has not improved his percentage. He is shooting 32.4% and has made only two of 24 three-point shots--8% accuracy. Point guard Jeff Probst can shoot--he’s second on the team with nine three-point baskets--but rarely tries.

“We don’t have any one pure shooter,” Probst said. “I think we’re a good shooting team when we take good shots. Our offense is good. When we work it around, we’re a good shooting team. When we try to shoot the three-pointer off the break, we’re not very good.”

Probst, who averages only three shots a game, sometimes shoots almost as an afterthought. He’s shooting only 28% (nine for 32) from three-point range but made three consecutive three-pointers against Lehigh, one game in which he appeared to be looking for shots. He was zero for three against St. Mary’s, all from three-point range, but had eight points the next night against USF, making two of four three-point shots.

“Over the summer, I worked on my shot,” Probst said. “The beginning of the year I struggled with it and I kind of forgot about shooting. Some nights I don’t even think about (scoring), but I’ve still got to look for my shot, too.

“I think at St. Mary’s I was pressing too hard. At USF, I came back and hit some. Coach Egan has never come right out and said to shoot more, but he’ll say things like, ‘Teams in the conference are gonna leave you alone, you’ve gotta step up.’ ”

Strickland, the Toreros’ designated zone buster, has made 41% of his three-point attempts (27 of 66) but is shooting the same percentage overall and was only four for 17 last weekend.

Egan said: “I’m gonna go back to him, but he’s in a slump for some reason.”

If anyone benefits from the Toreros’ errant shooting, it could be Meyer, a high school scoring star in Phoenix who may own USD’s best three-point shot. He had 56% three-point accuracy in high school.

Catching on in Egan’s system has been a challenge for Meyer, whose defense is just catching up to his offensive skills. In limited time this season, Meyer has made six of 11 three-pointers and is shooting 57% overall.

His quick offense against USF and some scrappy defense might have earned him more playing time.

“I paid attention, you betcha,” Egan said. “If Wayman’s still in a slump, I will go to Neal. He didn’t hurt us at the (defensive) end, either. That’s been a concern.”

Probst said: “Wayman’s a streak shooter. Sometimes he’s hot, sometimes he’s not. We’re all the same, except Neal. He’s probably the best pure shooter on the team. I think he’ll get more playing time. Eventually his time was gonna come, anyway.”

Meyer said he hasn’t gotten any indication he’ll play more, but his hopes are up.

“At the times he’s put me in, I’ve hit a few shots and helped us out,” he said. “If I can help, I’ll help. There are a lot of people older and with more experience in front of me.”

Meyer said some teams will pay for the notion that they can play a tight zone and give up the outside shot.

“We’re in a little struggle right now but we’re taking good shots,” he said. “Eventually they’ve got to start going in. Why (defenses) are dropping off, I’m not sure. Personally, I think we’re a good shooting team, we’re just in a little struggle.”

Portland Coach Larry Steele, for one, agrees. His team got lit up by Strickland last season, and he said he won’t let the Toreros shoot uncontested jumpers. In the two USD victories, Strickland scored 52 points and made 20 of 26 shots, eight of 10 from three-point range.

If the word around the conference is to let USD shoot jumpers, Steele doesn’t subscribe.

“Last year they beat us from outside,” he said. “Strickland just killed us from outside. We’ve gotta be prepared for whatever they do. We give them a great deal of respect.”

Even if their shooting sometimes struggles to be respectable.