DEE, USD DEFENSE DOMINATE SMC & LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ACTION
By Rob Stone
Six-foot junior Johnny Dee shot 42 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line and the University of San Diego (USD)Toreros defense held the Saint Mary’s College (SMC) Gaels to 25 percent shooting from the field (including seven percent from behind the three-point line) in coming up with what could arguably be considered their biggest win of the season in defeating SMC by a final score of 61-43 in a West Coast Conference (WCC) men’s basketball matchup played at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of USD in Linda Vista on Thursday evening, January 30.
Dee finished with a team-high 17 points to lead the Toreros to the triumph and was followed in the USD statistical column by 6-foot-11-inch senior Dennis Kramer (14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots), six-foot-five-inch sophomore Duda Sanadze (14 points, five rebounds, and three assists), five-foot-seven-inch junior Christopher Anderson (eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals), and six-foot-nine-inch sophomore Jito Kok (seven rebounds and three blocked shots).
Five nights earlier, the Toreros avenged a tough 59-56 WCC defeat at the hands of the Gonzaga Bulldogs by pouncing on the Portland Pilots 65-63 in a hotly contested conference contest atPortland.
The USD victory was paced by the performances of Dee (21 points), Kramer (15 points and 10 rebounds), and Kok (two points and five blocked shots).
The Toreros then returned home only to drop three consecutive games to the University of Pacific (UOP) Tigers (84-67), University of San Francisco Dons (USF) (74-67), and Santa Clara Broncos (69-63).
“I was really proud of our defensive effort, especially at the end of the game,” said USF coach Rex Walters. “We made some key stops when we needed to and that was the difference. We didn’t bring our “A” game tonight but we found a way to win on the road.”
“There weren’t a lot of X’s and O’s down the stretch. We just made a commitment to attack better on both ends of the floor.”
Winning on the road was something USD was unable to pull off on Thursday, February 13 as SMC exacted some revenge with a 69-57 win in Moraga, California.
But it was the Toreros that were in attack mode two evenings later, pummeling UOP 70-55 on the Tigers campus in Stockton, California.
Once again, Dee led USD with a game-high 19 points and was joined in the Toreros scoring column by Anderson (10 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists), Kramer (five points and six rebounds), and six-foot-three-inch sophomore Nick Kerr (12 points).
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL ACTION In local high school boys basketball action, it was: Kearny Komets 60, Madison Warhawks 48.
Kearny’s Austin Knox (14 points), Takoda Browne (13 points), and Jeremiah Jorden (10 points); Madison’s Anthony Jensen (20 points and three rebounds), Perry Davis (14 points and three steals), Mason Pennock (nine points, 10 rebounds, four steals, and 1 blocked shot), Vincent Parrish (five rebounds and two steals), and Curtis Anderson (five rebounds and two blocked shots) were all stat sheet stuffers in showcasing their strong and athletic moves on the hardwood for their respective ball clubs.
Rob Stone is a lifelong resident of the Clairemont Mesa/Kearny Mesa area and is also a certified talent scout with Sports Management Worldwide. If you would like a professional scouting report written up on your favorite athlete, you can feel free to contact him directly. He may be reached at http://www.highvoltigesports.blogspot.com, http://www.smwwscout.com/rob-stone, rstone@smww.com, Sportsguyrob@att.net, or 1 (619) 871-7024.
