GAME NOTES: Still seeking their first true road win of the season, the San Diego Toreros clash with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Thursday night.

Since winning four games in five opportunities in the second half of November, the Toreros have hit a rough patch in the schedule, resulting in three consecutive setbacks. The latest loss for USD took place on Sunday when the team bowed to Pac-12 Conference power UCLA in a 75-68 decision.

Meanwhile the Gauchos are coming off their third overtime game in the last seven outings, losing to SMU in Dallas three nights ago by a score of 80-73. The defeat was the second in the last three games overall for a UCSB squad that is now settled in at .500.

The Gauchos won the most recent meeting between the programs last season by a score of 72-61 on the road in San Diego, extended the team's advantage in the all-time series to 16-6.

In a game that was decided by just seven points, San Diego could have easily made a serious challenge against UCLA if not for the fact that the visitors shot only 10-of-20 at the free-throw line. Johnny Dee tallied a team-high 22 points, converting 4-of-10 shots behind the 3-point line and all four of his chances at the charity stripe. Off the bench, Brandon Perry chipped in 16 points as he knocked down 7-of-10 from the field, leaving no other player on the roster with more than three field goals.

On a team that is posting 68.8 ppg, the only double-digit scorer for the Toreros is Dee with his 20.7 ppg. He has been hitting his 3-point tries at an impressive 45.1 percent clip and is also 89.2 percent accurate at the free- throw line as well. Chris Anderson, second in scoring with 8.4 ppg, has been converting field goals at only 39.1 percent and has been awful at the charity stripe (.457), but his presence on the court is crucial due to having handed out 72 of the unit's 127 assists.

The Gauchos converted a total of just nine field goals in the first half at SMU, forcing the visitors to battle from behind in order to actually tie the game after 40 minutes. Unfortunately, UCSB fell behind in overtime and, while managing to knot the score at 69-69 about one minute in, that was the end of the good news for the squad as it fell flat the rest of the way.

Michael Bryson tried to give the Gauchos a fighting chance with a double- double consisting of 25 points and 10 rebounds as he remained on the floor for 43 minutes. Gabe Vincent came off the bench to convert half of his 10 3-point attempts in order to finish with 15 points before fouling out for a squad that shot only 35.8 percent from the floor in the meeting.

Handling the bulk of the action in the paint for the Gauchos through the first eight games of the campaign, Alan Williams leads the program in scoring with 18.0 ppg, shooting an impressive 79.2 percent at the free-throw line for a big man. Bryson (13.6 ppg) and Hugh Green (10.5 ppg) also play major roles at the offensive end of the floor for the program.

Dee will get his points for the Toreros, but unless he gets ample scoring support from his teammates, the chances of the visitors coming out ahead are slim.