SAN DIEGO – Ronnie Boyce made 5-of-6 three-pointers and scored a career high 22 points as USF downed San Diego, 73-65 Thursday night at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
The win improves USF's record to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in the West Coast Conference while the Toreros drop to 5-9 and 0-3 in the WCC.
 
Devin Watson (16), Tim Derksen (12) and Uche Ofoegbu (11) joined Boyce in double-figures to help the Dons to their third win in four games.
 
Vasa Pusica led all San Diego scorers with 19 points. The Toreros were without the services of leading scorer Dude Sanadze, who missed the game due to illness.
 
Derksen also pulled down nine rebounds while Boyce grabbed nine as the Dons outrebounded the Toreros, 38-33. The Dons shot 46.4 from the field and were 8-of-14 (57.1) from long distance while the Toreros managed to shoot just 34.5 percent from the floor.
 
USF trailed just once in the game at 4-2 and led a halftime, 31-24.
 
A three-pointer by Boyce two and half minutes into the second half gave USF a 40-29 lead which would grow to as many as 14 points at 67-53 with 4:45 remaining.
 
The Toreros made things a little uncomfortable for the Dons down the stretch. With USF leading 70-63 with :47 left, Ofoegbu was whistled for a flagrant one foul, sending Pusica to the line, where he knocked down both free throws to cut the lead to five. San Diego retained possession but misfired on two three-pointers which would have cut the lead to two.
 
Boyce gathered the last miss and made 1-of-2 free throws to boost the lead back to six at 71-65. San Diego was off the mark twice on its last possession and a pair of free throws by USF's Dont'e Reynolds accounted for the 73-65 final.
 
"San Diego is tough-minded and they really make you guard," said head coach Rex Walters. "They are bigger then we are, especially at the five spot but our guys really battled. We didn't play great and missed some shots we normally make and we need to play a little bit better down the stretch. But it's hard to win on the road so we'll run with it."
 
The game certainly wasn't as fast paced as the Dons last three contests but USF was in control for virtually all game, despite the close call down the stretch.
 
"They do a nice job in running a lot of Princeton-type action and really use the shot clock to their advantage," said Walters. "You have to be patient and aggressive defensively and take advantage of your attempts on the offensive end.
 
For the fourth straight game and the seventh time this season, USF had four players hit double digits and the Dons are 6-1 in those contests, with the only loss being an overtime thriller to Gonzaga. For only the second time this season, a player other than Watson or Derksen took team-high scoring honors, with Boyce recording his third 20-point scoring night in his last four games.
 
"Ronnie, Devin, Tim and Uche know how to score the basketball. Ronnie made some really big shots for us. Other guys stepped up, too, even though they might not standout in the box score."
 
USF will return to action Saturday night when the Dons meet the BYU Cougars in Provo beginning at 6:00 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on BYUtv.