Williams wins it for the Toreros

On a day that is often associated with luck, University of San Diego men’s basketball found themselves in a tough spot. With just 26 seconds to play, the Toreros were tied 64 to 64 with Portland State University in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). They needed a basket, or perhaps a stroke of luck, to win the game and continue their season. 

Saturday night, however, USD didn’t need luck. They had Tyler Williams. As time expired, the junior guard caught a pass from redshirt junior Isaiah Wright, pulled up, and drained a three pointer to earn the Toreros a 67-64 victory on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Though USD eventually came out on top, Portland State had them on their heels a bit early. Utilizing a full-court press, the Vikings stifled the Toreros’ offense while jumping out to an early lead. By the halfway mark of the first half, USD trailed by 12. 

As the half continued, though, the Toreros seemed to find their groove. Eight first-half points from junior Olin Carter III brought USD to within two, moving the score to 28-30 in favor of the Vikings. Acting head coach Sam Scholl spoke about how his team worked to overcome Portland State’s defensive approach in the first half. 

“We did it just by catching, staying on balance, not getting the ball over our head, and coming and meeting passes,” Scholl said. “We were just being solid with everything. That was the game plan, the guys got a little rattled, but then just settled down and stayed steady.”

As USD pulled closer, though, the game began to slow down for both teams. Staunch defense on both sides created a nearly two-minute-long scoring drought, and neither team appeared to be able to break through as they fought for momentum heading into halftime. The Toreros would remain on the wrong side of things, going into the break trailing by nine.

As the Toreros came out for the second half, they appeared to have continued to make adjustments on offense. They came out of the gates hot, and quickly took a 43-42 lead on Olin Carter III’s three pointer after just five minutes of play. 

The second half saw USD build upon that lead behind a collaborative effort on offense. With four of their five starters scoring 12 points or more, the Toreros moved the ball effectively as the game went on. 

Scholl stated that he was pleased with his team’s balanced approach on offense.

“When we play connected like that, and everyone’s sharing the ball — whoever’s open just looking to score or trying to find the open man — we’re tough to stop,” Scholl said. 

The Vikings, however, did not go down without a fight. Coming into the game with a 20-13 (9-9 conference) record that is nearly identical to that of the Toreros, they represented as even of a match for USD as there could be, and it showed down the stretch. They prevented USD from expanding their lead to more than five points as the game wound to a close before battling back to tie it at 64 with 1:13 to play. That tie would set the stage for the Toreros’ biggest moment of the season. 

Tyler Williams grabbed a rebound after a stop on defense, and quickly dished it to Isaiah Wright. As Wright dribbled down the court and navigated his way through defenders, the crowd at the Jenny Craig Pavilion (JCP) rose to their feet in anticipation of a USD shot at victory. Wright sent a pass to Williams, who quickly caught and got the shot off without a pause. 

As the ball swished its way through the net, the Toreros as well as the crowd at the JCP erupted. Williams, however, only offered a sly smile, and held up three fingers as his teammates mobbed him and the celebration unfolded around him. Leaving just half a second on the clock, Williams’ near-buzzer beater locked up the game for the Toreros, leading them to a dramatic 67-64 victory. 

After the game, Scholl described the final play as it unfolded in front him. 

“Isaiah Wright just made an under-control, great-basketball read and play to find our great shooter in the wing in Tyler, who was ready to knock it down,” Scholl said.

Scholl said that he had a feeling  Williams would make the shot.

“When it left his hands, I knew it was going in,” Scholl said.

Williams described his feelings on the experience.

“It was a rewarding feeling,” Williams said. “Especially, you know, just continuing to play with this team in March, is just a great feeling within itself. So, knowing that I helped my team further the process is just a rewarding feeling.”

Though Williams wouldn’t go as far as his coach did to call his shot, he did say that the ball felt good leaving his hands.

“Oh yeah, always,” Williams said.  “Even when I miss, it feels good.”

Though Williams began the game on an 0-5 streak shooting, his coach stated that he had faith in him to take the last shot of the game.

“We told Tyler, ‘Just keep shooting,’” Scholl said. “He was 0-4 in the first half, and we just told him, ‘Hey buddy we believe in you, you’re a great shooter, just keep shooting.’ It doesn’t matter if Tyler misses three, four, five shots, he’s a shooter, he’s worked so hard to improve as a shooter, and he’s got such strong will. He wanted that shot, and we knew it was going down when he took it.”

As for the game as a whole, Scholl emphasized his team’s ability to stay poised under pressure. 

“We just had to stay the course,” Scholl said. “One of our keys to this was to just stay steady, stay steady. They’re a team of runs — they’re a heck of a basketball team, so they’re gonna make runs, we had a couple of sloppy turnovers, but we just didn’t panic, we just stayed steady through the whole deal.”

The Toreros’ relatively low-scoring victory was a contrast to their offense-filled win in the first round of the CIT. Williams described the Toreros’ overall approach and how that resulted in the game. 

“We built this program on our defensive identity, and we knew right away that if we wanted to win a game, we were gonna have to win it with our defense,” Williams said. “It was all about us staying steady regardless of the runs that we go on, whether it be good or bad.” 

The Toreros’ victory over the Portland State Vikings advances them to the next round of the CIT. They will take on  the University of Northern Colorado Bears  in yet another home game at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m.