Feb 23, 2003

Box Score

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Jason Blair had 26 points, and Roy Morris scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half as San Diego clinched one of the top two spots in the West Coast Conference with an 81-63 win over San Francisco on Saturday night.

Jason Keep had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Toreros (15-10, 9-3), who blasted open a tight game with a prolonged run to begin the second half. San Diego won its third straight, completing a road sweep in the Bay area and beating San Francisco for the fourth straight time.

San Diego leads the Dons (12-13, 7-5) by two games with two to play before the conference tournament, where the Toreros and West Coast leader Gonzaga will get byes in the first two rounds.

After scoring 31 points in the first half, San Diego scored 30 more in the first 10 minutes of the second half, hitting 14 of their first 23 shots. The Toreros opened the half with a 14-4 run, taking a 51-40 lead on Morris' 3-pointer, and shot better than 60 percent in the second half.

In the final home game of his stellar career, Darrell Tucker scored 19 points for San Francisco. He passed Winford Boynes for third place on the Dons' career scoring list with a dunk in the opening minute, but he made just three shots in the second half as San Diego pulled away.

Tucker trails only Bill Cartwright and Quintin Dailey on the school's career list.

Blair hit three 3-pointers and went 9-for-11 from the field for San Diego, which won despite 17 turnovers.

John Cox scored 11 points for San Francisco, while James Bayless had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

San Diego got its ninth win in 11 games, while San Francisco lost for just the second time in seven games.