PARIS – USF ended its four-game European trip on a high note Friday night with a 72-70 victory over the Cergy Pontoise Panthers in Paris.
 
The game was easily the most competitive of the trip, as the #EuroDons rallied from a seven-point, fourth quarter deficit to post their fourth win in as many outings on the 10-day trip which took the Dons to Germany, Belgium and France.
 
"We hung in there and competed," said head coach Kyle Smith. "I knew when we walked about five miles up to the Sacre Coeur this morning that their legs might not be all that fresh, We didn't have a lot of shots go down tonight but we were gritty enough to get it done."
 
The Dons built a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter but were outscored 25-13 in the second period which whittled USF's lead to just one at the break, 33-32. The Dons were still nursing a one point, 49-48 lead at the end of the third period, but Cergy Pontoise used an 14-6 run to open a 62-55 lead midway through the final period.
 
Back-to-back baskets by freshman Jimbo Lull trimmed the Panthers lead to 62-59 and then freshman Charles Minlend scored the Dons next three points to knot the game at 62-62. With Cergy Pontoise holding a one-point lead at 64-63 with 1:45 lead, Minlend knocked down a pair of free throws to give USF a 65-64 advantage at the 1:35 mark.
 
Following a Panther turnover, Ronnie Boyce a streaking Nate Renfro who converted on an emphatic, alley-oop slam to boost the Dons' lead to 67-64 with 1:10 remaining. The Panthers made two late three-pointers to make things interesting but Frankie Ferrari made five free throws in the last minute of the game to preserve a hard-fought, two-point victory.
 
Minlend finished with a team high 15 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. The freshman averaged 10.2 points a game during the Dons' four-game European swing. Boyce added 13 while Ferrari (12) and Lull (10) also reached double figures.
 
In addition to coming away with four wins, Smith was very pleased with the cohesiveness of the team which is in search of an identity following heavy losses from a year ago.
 
"Our team attitude has been great," said Smith. "These guys are fun to coach and they are having fun with themselves. You can see a real bond developing and that is very pleasing. No doubt we have a lot of work to do, but hopefully these four games and the practices leading up to the trip has but us a little ahead of the curve on some things we'd normally have to iron out in October and November."
 
USF will open the 2016-17 regular season against Illinois-Chicago on Friday, Nov. 11 at the Sobrato Center.