Pineiro helps San Diego top Cougars

LAS VEGAS — Isaiah Pineiro scored a career-high 30 points and Olin Carter III added 18 to help San Diego hold on for an 82-75 win over Washington State on Saturday night in the Las Vegas Classic.

Pineiro was 11-of-16 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range and grabbed eight rebounds. Isaiah Wright had 11 points and Tyler Williams scored 10 for San Diego (10-3). The Toreros have won five of their last six.

Ahmed Ali slipped a bounce pass to Robert Franks for a layup and, after a USD turnover, Ali drove the lane for another to pull the Cougars within one.

After Pineiro missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Franks made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 74-all with 2:29 left but Pineiro answered with a dunk that sparked an 8-1 closing run as WSU missed its last four field-goal attempts.

Franks had 22 points for Washington State (7-4) and CJ Elleby added 13 with nine rebounds.

Franks has 1,002 career points, becoming the 37th player in program history to top the 1,000-point plateau.

San Diego will play Drake in the championship game Sunday. Washington State will face New Mexico State.

Nick McGlynn had 19 points and a critical block in the closing seconds, Tremell Murphy scored 14 and had a late steal, and Drake held on for a 66-63 win over New Mexico State on Saturday at the Las Vegas Classic.

Nick Norton scored nine of his 11 points in the second half for Drake (9-2), which is off to its best start since the 2007-08 season when the Bulldogs started 22-1 and advanced to the NCAA tournament.