SAN DIEGO – USF can point to late turnovers and missed free throws as determining factors in its 77-69 loss to San Diego Saturday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
With the game hanging in the balance with just less than six minutes remaining, the Dons (9-14, 3-8 WCC) made six turnovers in a span of four minutes helping the Toreros turn a 61-58 deficit into a 69-63 advantage, as San Diego (12-11, 5-6) completed a season sweep of USF for the first time since 2008-09.
 
Kruize Pinkins led all USF scorers with 23 points while Matt Glover added 13 and Tim Derksen chipped in with 10 before fouling out. Mark Tollefsen was held to just eight points while Chris Adams added seven off the bench.
 
Johnny Dee, who the Dons held to just four points in the first meeting between the two schools on New Year's Night, poured in 20 points while Vasa Pusica added 16 off the bench to lead the Toreros. San Diego also received 11 points from Duda Sanadze and 10 from Brandon Perry.
 
The Toreros outrebounded USF, 30-27 and took advantage of 17 Don turnovers which led to 23 points.
 
The tightly contested game saw 11 lead changes, including seven in a back-and-forth second half.
 
The two teams were whistled for a combined 51 fouls, with San Diego taking advantage of 25-of-30 shooting from the line, compared to USF, which made 20-of-32 free throws.
 
"We played hard but we weren't very efficient," said USF head coach Rex Walters. "It's hard to win a game when you miss 12 free throws and turn the ball over 17 times. We shot 50 percent, but the 17 turnovers killed us and San Diego isn't a team that traps and presses."
 
USF trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half at 16-6 and still trailed by eight at 26-18 with 8:15 remaining before the break. However, the Dons outscored San Diego 20-9 down the stretch to take a 38-37 lead at intermission.
 
Pinkins made all five of his shots from the floor and scored 13 of his 23 points before intermission. USF also shot 63.6 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes of the game.
 
After Pinkins' layup gave the Dons a five point lead at 52-47 with 11:11 left, the Toreros reeled off five straight capped off by a three-pointer by Marcus Harris to tie the game at 52 with 10:36 left.
 
A jumper by Glover gave the Dons a three-point lead at 61-58 with 6:05 left, but the Dons turned the ball over on each of their next four possession as San Diego took a 65-61 lead with 4:31 remaining.
 
With the Toreros hanging onto a 65-63 lead, two more Don turnovers helped San Diego boost its lead to six at 69-63 with a little over a minute remaining. USF could get no closer than five points down the stretch.
 
The Dons made just 2-of-6 of their shots from the field and committed six turnovers over the final five and a half minutes of the game.
 
"I have to lock into our guys and figure out what we need to do better and if we can play this fast. It's frustrating because you want a program that has some continuity and a style of play," said Walters. "We just haven't been an aggressive attacking confident team."
 
USF will return at action on Thursday when the Dons play host to the Portland Pilots beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium.