SAN DIEGO – Falling behind early, the Pacific men's basketball program was playing catch-up the whole way and San Diego grabbed the West Coast Conference opener 66-54 Sunday at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
San Diego (6-7, 1-0 WCC) opened the game on a 9-0 run and led by 11 at the half. Pacific (9-5, 0-1 WCC) cut a 12-point second half deficit down to four with 9:29 remaining, but the Toreros prevailed down the stretch to get their lead back into double-figures.
 
The Tigers couldn't find consistency on the offensive end as they bundled a cold shooting performance with 21 turnovers. Pacific was 4-of-22 (.182) from long range.
 
Senior TJ Wainwright netted a team-high 15 points. A season-high came from senior Justin Rochelin with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Senior Elias Ralph, a WCC Preseason All-Conference Team selection, turned in a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Jayden Clayton dished out eight assists.
 
The Toreros grabbed 13 steals including six from Ty-Laur Johnson, who ended with 22 points.
 
Pacific came out slow as San Diego took early leads of 9-0 and 15-2. Field goals by senior Isaac Jack and Wainwright trimmed it to 17-10 with 9:20 to go.
 
A turnaround jumper by Ralph cut it to 18-12 at the 7:42 mark. Though, USD got its lead back up to 13 before Jack converted a lay-up on Pacific's final possession to trail 34-23 at the half.
 
Pacific had a better start to the second half made it a 39-33 game with 15:41 remaining after a dunk by Rochelin. After the Toreros went back up 48-39, a turnaround jumper by Ralph at the end of the shot clock sparked a 7-0 run as a lay-in by freshman Jaion Pitt sliced it to 48-44 with 9:29 left.
 
However, San Diego answered with an 8-0 spurt to go back up 56-44 at the 6:04 mark. USD's largest lead was 62-47 with 4:29 to go.
 
Up next, the Tigers head to LMU for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at Gersten Pavilion. Pacific's next home game is Friday, Jan. 2 when it hosts Oregon State at 7 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center where it is 5-0 this season.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is now 17-15 all-time against San Diego. It was the first time Pacific opened WCC play against USD since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
 
- The Tigers entered the game ranked 29th in the nation in rebounding margin (+9.2) and outrebounded the Toreros 39-27.
 
- Pacific outscored USD 28-8 in the paint.
 
- Wainwright submitted his 46th career double-figure scoring game, 10th this year and fifth in the last six games. He drained four three-pointers and has made at least one three in 13 of 14 games on the year.
 
- Rochelin surpassed his previous season-high of 12 points against Sacramento State. He was two points shy of his career-high 15 against La Verne last season as a member of UC San Diego. It was Rochelin's 11th career double-digit scoring performance and second at Pacific.
 
- Ralph notched his 24th career double-double, 13th at Pacific and third this season. He was 5-of-7 from the floor for his 100th career double-figure scoring game and 40th in two seasons at Pacific.
 
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