BAKERSFIELD – Maybe it's a Monday thing. When not on an island, that is.
Exhibiting its best overall cohesiveness since an impressive home victory over Nevada two weeks earlier, USD's men's basketball team notched its first road victory of the season here last night, defeating Cal State Bakersfield 77-65 before 1,529 at Rabobank Arena.
The Toreros placed four players in double figures, led by the senior duo of Gyno Pomare (24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Brandon Johnson (18 points, 7 assists, 3 steals). USD (4-3) expanded a four-point halftime lead to 11 in the first five minutes of the second half and stayed in complete control the rest of the way.
Sophomore guard Matt Dorr scored 14 points, doubling his previous career high, and Rob Jones contributed 13 points and five rebounds.
It was enough to make USD coach Bill Grier forget about the Toreros'Monday contest between Nevada and last night's – an 80-45 blowout loss to No. 22 Miami a week earlier in the Paradise Jam Tournament on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“I think it was probably our best game other than Nevada,” Grier said. “Brandon did a good job of running our team. “It has been a struggle for him. Last year when we really got rolling, he was playing predominantly at the two (shooting guard).
“Tonight he did a nice job of being a point guard and running our team. Also we did a good job on the glass and Gyno really got going inside and that was tough for them to deal with.”
The Toreros were without junior guard De'Jon Jackson, who experienced some swelling in a previously injured knee and was withheld for precautionary reasons. Jackson will be examined by team physician Dr. Paul C. Murphy today and his availability for Saturday's game at San Diego State will be determined later in the week.
USD did most things well in the first half. But a failure to faze UCSB junior forward Trent Blakley resulted in the Toreros holding only a 39-35 lead at the break.
Blakley was a perfect 8-for-8 overall from the field including 4-for-4 on three-pointers in scoring 20 points to keep the Roadrunners in the game and the Toreros from pulling away.
Blakley wound up going 10-for-11, his only miss being a tip off a rebound for 26 points, which included 6-for-6 from beyond the arc. The fact that he only took three shots in the final 20 minutes appeared to be as much a product of the Roadrunners' (3-3) forgetting he was on the floor as any USD defensive effort to stop him.
Bakersfield's problem all night was an inability to contain Pomare or Johnson, who combined to connect on 17-of-26 shots.
“(Pomare's) 10-for-13 isn't as impressive as Blakley's 10-for-11. But it's still pretty impressive and efficient,” Grier said.
Pomare described the game as an “emotional” one for the Toreros because it, like the Nevada contest, represented an opportunity to avenge a loss last season. CSUB defeated USD at the Jenny Craig Pavilion 80-72 in a game Johnson sat out with a thigh injury.
“We got a little payback,” Pomare said. “I thought we played really well (as a team) in the Nevada game and it was the same tonight.”
Hank Wesch: (619) 293-1853; hank.wesch@uniontrib.com
