Jeter scores 26, Cooper misses game with injury

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The San Diego Toreros used good perimeter shooting early and withstood a second half Portland rally to take a 78-68 win Monday evening at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Senior guard Pooh Jeter led the Pilots (8-12, 2-4 West Coast Conference) with a game-high 26 points, while Ross DeRogatis finished with 19 points and six assists for the Toreros (12-6, 2-3 WCC).

Portland was without senior guard and second leading scorer Darren Cooper (13.0 ppg) who sat out with a lingering turf toe injury on his right foot.

Sophomore forward Marcus Lewis picked up the scoring slack early by making his first five field goal attempts and closed the first half with 13 points, but finished with 15 on the night.

A back-and-forth affair began before the Toreros used a 13-3 run midway through the first half to take a 29-18 lead. Jeter hit a pair of treys to close the gap, but Pomare converted on a lob pass from DeRogatis at the halftime buzzer to give the Toreros a 44-35 lead at the break. The Pilots made just two of seven free throws in the opening period, while USD benefited from DeRogatis’ five three-pointers.

The Pilots came out of the half with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-43, but USD countered with a 17-6 run to gain the largest lead of the game at 61-49 with 9:36 remaining.

A jumper by Jeter made it 67-60 with 5:23 remaining, but USD extended it back to double digits and Gyno Pomare’s layup with 2:47 made it a 12-point Torero advantage.

“The difference in the game was Ross DeRogatis making a bunch of three-pointers early,” Portland head coach Michael Holton said. “His shooting separated them from us and we had to play uphill the rest of the way.”

Jeter eclipsed the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season and fifth time in six WCC games. He is second in the league in scoring trailing only Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison.

The Pilots shot 46 percent from the field, while USD shot 53 percent from the floor. Pomare finished with 17 points, going 6-for-6 from the floor and 5 of 5 at the free throw line. Brandon Johnson added 10 points off the bench for the Toreros. Senior forward Nick Lewis entered the game averaging 19.5 points, but finished with just nine points.

Ben Sullivan had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Donald Wilson scored four points and led the Pilots with eight rebounds. Wilson has led UP in rebounding in five of the last six games.

Portland will conclude its current three-game WCC road swing at Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 28 with a 5 p.m. start against the Bulldogs. The game will be televised on FSN Northwest.