Box Score
(Seattle, WA) – San Francisco won its fourth straight with a 69-63 road victory against Seattle U. in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Elgin Baylor Court at Key Arena. The Dons (4-1) fought off a determined effort by the Redhawks (0-2), playing in their home opener in front of 4,140 fans.
San Francisco shot the ball well, but again struggled at times to take care of it. The Dons connected at a .472 (25-53) clip for the contest, including .444 (8-18) from 3-point range. USF committed 19 turnovers, but limited Seattle U. to a .393 (24-61) from the field.
"We really stuck to the game plan," USF head coach Rex Walters said. "I thought our guys really worked hard and I'm really proud of them. We didn't do a great job of taking the ball at times and we must improve on that. It's giving me nightmares quite honestly. We're not an overpowering team, but aside from the turnovers, we execute the game plan pretty well. Our guys come from winning programs and they are conditioned to win these types of games."
Junior guard Michael Williams led four Dons in double-digit scoring with a team-high 15 points and two assists, while junior forward Perris Blackwell and senior forward Angelo Caloiaro added 12 apiece for the Green and Gold.
Sophomore guard Dominique O'Connor scored a career-high 10 points with three rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes. O'Connor scored all 10 points in the first eight minutes of the second half and gave the Dons the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 12:08 remaining.
"He's been here three years and that's his second road game," Walters said. "He's a lot of fun to be around and a lot of fun to coach. His best basketball is in front of him."
San Francisco built a nine-point lead, 28-19 on a Williams 3-pointer with 3:06 left in the first half, but Seattle U. stormed back to cut the deficit to one, 28-27 at the intermission. Both teams shot .440 (11-25) from the floor in the opening period.
USF held a commanding 40-29 rebound edge and shot well at the free throw line converting on .733 (11-15). No trip to the charity stripe was bigger than Blackwell's with 0:34 left in regulation and the Dons clinging to a three-point lead. The Etiwanda product missed the first, but made the second for a 66-61 lead that gave the Dons a big lift.
"I was so happy for Perris," Walters said. "We all know each other's strengths and weaknesses and we all pull for each other. That was a big moment in the game and he came through for us."
San Francisco continues its long road trip with the program's first appearance in the Carr's Great Alaska Shootout. The Dons open play Wednesday, November 23 against Dartmouth. Tip-off time against the Big Green in Anchorage is slated for approximately 9:30 PM (PT) in a game carried live on USFDons.com courtesy of Stretch Internet.
NOTES: It was USF's 10th straight win in the series against Seattle U… San Francisco leads 20-7 all-time in the series dating back to 1952… the Dons win their road opener for the first time since a 75-70 victory at Hawaii in the opening game of the 2008 Verizon Wireless Classic… a Jesuit Spotlight Game.
