Field Level Media
Dec 23, 2018
Isaiah Pineiro scored 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the University of San Diego defeated Washington State 82-75 Saturday night in the Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena.
Olin Carter III scored 18 points, Isaiah Wright added 11 and Tyler Williams had 10 for the Toreros (10-3), who will face Drake in the tournament final Sunday. Drake defeated New Mexico State 66-63 earlier Saturday.
Pineiro shot 11-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Robert Franks led WSU (7-4) with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting and also had four rebounds and four assists. Teammate CJ Elleby had 13 points and a game-high-tying nine rebounds, Ahmed Ali scored 12 with six assists and Marvin Cannon and Carter Skaggs each scored 10.
The Toreros shot 30-of-59 from the field (50.8 percent), while the Cougars were 27-of-53 (50.9 percent). USD forced 16 turnovers while committing just eight and turned that into a 23-10 advantage in points.
The Cougars had their two-game winning streak snapped, after defeating Rider and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in early round games of the tournament at home.
San Diego led by as many as 12 points in the second half before the Cougars rallied to tie it at 74-74 with 2:29 left on a free throw by Franks.
The Toreros regained the lead on their next possession on a driving dunk by Pineiro with 2:25 left and they never trailed again. Wright made five free throws in the final 1:19 to help clinch the victory.
WSU, which will play New Mexico State on Sunday, led by as many as 10 points in the first half before USD rallied to take a 40-38 lead at the intermission.
Pineiro scored 13 for the Toreros in the first half while Franks had 11 for the Cougars.
WSU shot 60 percent (15 of 25) in the first half but committed 10 turnovers compared to the Toreros' three, which led USD to have a 9-2 advantage in points off turnovers.
--Field Level Media