University of San Francisco Athletics

Complete USF Game Notes

Game #9
USF Dons (5-3, 0-0 WCC) vs.
Holy Cross Crusaders (6-4, 0-0 Patriot Leage)
Memorial Gymnasium • San Francisco, Calif.
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 • 7:00 p.m. PT
Last Meeting: Holy Cross 88-83 (Dec. 22, 2011)
Radio: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
TV/Web: USFDons.com

Dons Briefs

• Now 5-3 after Saturday's 59-51 loss at Nevada...Dons have now lost two straight following a five-game winning streak.
• Return home Tuesday night to face Holy Cross Crusaders of the Patriot League...marks USF's second game in a busy stretch that will see the Dons play six games in a span of 12 days.
• Are 4-0 at home this season and are 45-18 (.714) on the Memorial Gymnasium hardwood under head coach Rex Walters.
• Team is coming off its worse shooting performance of the season in which the Dons shot just 34 percent at Nevada and scored a season-low 51 points.
• Rank second in the WCC and 14th nationally in three-point percentage at 40.3 percent despite Saturday's 2-for-15 performance from beyond the arc.
• Junior De'End Parker leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage (65.2; 15-23), while Cole Dickerson ranks second nationally in rebound average (12.6).
• Three players are averaging double-figures, led by De'End Parker's 16.1 ppg average...Cole Dickerson is scoring at a 13.1 ppg clip while junior point guard Cody Doolin is averaging 10.9 ppg.
• Dickerson has posted four double-doubles in eight games this season.
• Point guard Cody Doolin -- who dished out a career-high 14 assists vs. St. John's -- ranks 15th nationally in assists per game at 6.5...he has 301 career assists which ranks seventh all-time on USF's career chart.
• Have been outrebounded in each of the last three games vs. St. John's, Pacific and Nevada after outboarding their first five opponents to start the season.
• Shooting 38.2 percent (39-for-102) over last two games vs. Pacific and Nevada after a string of four straight shooting 50 percent or better.
• Shooting just 62.6 percent from the free throw line, which ranks last in the WCC.
• Have held their last six opponents under 70 points, including four under the 60-point mark...rank second in the WCC in scoring defense at 62.9 ppg.
• The Dons are 39-23 (.629) in their last 62 games following a 5-9 start to the 2010-11 season.
• USF is 67-69 in five seasons under head coach Rex Walters...his career record, which includes two seasons at Florida Atlantic, now stands at 98-102.
• Next up is San Diego State on Dec. 22 in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.

USF Returns Home to Face Holy Cross on Tuesday
USF (5-3, 0-0 WCC) will look to snap a two-game losing streak Tuesday night when the Dons play host to the Holy Cross Crusaders (6-4, 0-0 Patriot League). Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Dons are coming off a 59-51 loss at Nevada on Saturday, which came on the heels of a 67-59 set back at Pacific on Dec. 8.
The Crusaders have won two straight but have been idle since defeating Dartmouth, 67-56 on Dec. 8.
The two teams have played one common opponent -- St. John's -- this season, with the Dons scoring a 81-65 victory in San Francisco on Dec. 4. The Crusaders suffered a 65-53 defeat in Queens on Nov. 21.

USF-Holy Cross Series
In a series that dates back to 1955, Holy Cross leads the all-time series with USF, 3-2.
The Crusaders have won the last three games between the two schools, including last year's meeting in Worcester, 88-83, on Dec. 22, 2011. Holy Cross also came away with a 67-63 overtime win on Jan. 5, 2008 and scored a 97-88 home victory on Dec. 27, 2008.
USF's last win in the series came in the opening round of the 1998 Northwestern Mutual Classic in San Francisco, 58-42.
USF and Holy Cross met for the first time on Dec. 28, 1955 as part of the Holiday Festival at New York's Madison Square Garden, where the top-ranked Dons defeated the 14th-ranked Crusaders, 67-51.

Last Time Out: Nevada 59, USF 51 • Dec. 15, 2012 • Reno, Nev.
USF shot a season-low 34.0 percent and scored a season-low 51 points which led to a second straight loss on Saturday in Reno.
The Dons were also outrebounded for a third straight game, 45-30.
USF led 27-26 at the half but made just one of their first 15 shots from the floor to start the second half and fell behind by 15 points at 49-34 with 7:20 left. Dons cut the lead to 51-45 with 4:14 left and trailed by just three at 54-51 with 1:06 remaining but did not score again.
Cole Dickerson scored a team-high 11 points while Tim Derksen and Tao Xu added 10 each.

Busy Stretch
Saturday's game at Nevada began a stretch that will see the Dons play six games in a span of 12 days. After Tuesday's home game against Holy Cross, USF will travel to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic where the Dons will face San Diego State on Dec. 22. The Dons will also see action on Dec. 23 and 25th against opponents to be determined.
The flurry of activity will end on Dec. 29 when the Dons play host to Dominican University.
The Dons will open West Coast Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Santa Clara.

The Start
USF is off to a 5-3 start for the second consecutive season. The Dons won their ninth game last season to improve to 6-3 and would eventually improve to 9-3 on the year.

Winning Ways
USF is 39-23 (.629) in their last 62 games following a 5-9 start to the 2010-11 season. USF has also made back-to-back postseason appearances under Rex Walters, competing in the CIT in 2010-11 and the CBI last season.
Last season, the Dons finished with an overall record of 20-14, marking the program's first 20-win season since 1981-82 (25-6).

Walters Closing in on 100th Career Win
USF's 5-3 start has improved head coach Rex Walters' seven-year career record to 98-102 while his five-year USF coaching record stands at 67-69.

Leaders in Their Field
Three USF players -- Cole Dickerson, De'End Parker and Cody Doolin -- rank in the Top 15 nationally in various statistical categories.
Parker leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage, as the junior two-guard is shooting 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from beyond the arc after eight games.
Dickerson ranks second the nation in rebounding, averaging 12.6 boards a game, just behind of Siena's O.D. Anosike (13.0).
Doolin is averaging 6.5 assists per game, which ranks 15th among the national leaders.
As a team, USF ranks 14th the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 40.3 (54-for-134).

Running Hot and Cold
USF is shooting just 38.2 percent (39-for-102) over its last two games against Pacific (22-for-52) and Nevada (17-for-50), following a four-game stretch in which the Dons shot 50 percent or better from the floor vs. American, Columbia, Montana and St. John's.
The Dons shot 45.3 percent (43-for-95) from three-point range over their first six games -- tops in the nation -- but have managed to shoot just 28.2 percent (11-for-39) from long distance in the last two games at Pacific and Nevada.
USF ranks fifth in the WCC in field goal percentage (45.1) and second in three-point field goal percentage (40.3).

Board Work
After rebounding its first five opponents by a margin of 11.4 boards a game, USF has been outrebounded by a margin of 39.3 to 29.6 (-9.7) in each of its last three contests vs. St. John's (34-37), Pacific (25-36) and Nevada (30-45).
Cole Dickerson ranks second in the nation in rebounding with a 12.6 per game average, slightly behind Siena's O.D. Anosike, who is averaging 13.0 boards a game for the Saints.

From the Line
USF is shooting just 62.6 percent (112-for-179) from the foul line, which is the lowest percentage among WCC teams and 307th nationally. Cody Doolin (30-37) and Tao Xu (13-16) have combined to shoot 81.1 percent (43-53) while the rest of the team is shooting 53.1 percent (67-for-126) from the line.

Defense
After giving up a season-high 74 points to Stanford in the season-opener, USF has held its last seven opponents under 70 points, including four under 60.
The Dons rank second in the WCC in scoring defense, allowing just 62.9 points a game and also rank second in field goal defense at 45.1 percent.

Dickerson Doubling Down
Cole Dickerson is averaging a double-double eight games into the 2012-13 campaign, as the junior forward from Federal Way, Wash. is scoring 13.1 points and grabbing 12.6 rebounds per game.
Dickerson has posted four double-doubles in eight games this season against Stanford (11-19), Cal State-East Bay (14-15), Columbia (10-14) and Montana (19-20). His non-double-double games came against American (20-6), St. John's (6-8), Pacific (14-9) and Nevada (11-9).
The last USF player to average 10 or more rebounds for an entire season was Darrell Tucker in 2001-02. Darryl Johnson also accomplished the feat in 1991-92 when he led the WCC with an 11.4 rebound average.
Dickerson also posted double-doubles in both exhibition games against San Francisco State (21-15) and UNC-Pemboke (24-10).
Dickerson averaged 7.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg in 34 games last season, including one start.

Parker Tops Dons Scoring Column
Junior guard De'End Parker leads USF in scoring afer eight games with a 16.1 per game average, which ranks sixth among all WCC players.
Parker was averaging 19.6 points a game after the first six contests, which included a career-high 31-point effort against Columbia, but has been held to just 11 points in the last two games against Pacific (7) and Nevada (4).
Parker leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 65.2 (15-for-23) and is shooting 44.1 percent (44-102) from the floor. However, he has made just 3-of-18 shots from the floor over the last two games, including 0-for-3 from three-point range.
De'End grew up two blocks from the USF campus and attended Lincoln High School and City College of San Francisco before spending one season at UCLA.

What's Doolin
Junior point guard Cody Doolin ranks second the WCC and 15th nationally in assists per game (6.5). He also ranks second in the conference in minutes played per game (36.0).
With 24 assists in his last three games, Doolin's career assist total now stands at 301, which ranks seventh on USF's all-time list. He needs 19 more dimes to tie Chubby Cox (1976-78) for sixth all-time at 320.
Doolin currently ranks eighth in the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0; 52-26). For his career, Doolin has a 2.1 assist (301) to turnover (142) ratio.

Debuts
Eight players have made their USF debuts this season, including freshmen Tim Derksen, Coltin Gelb, Matt Christiansen, Avry Holmes, Tao Xu and redshirt freshman Mark Tollefsen.
De'End Parker, who spent last year at UCLA and Frank Rogers, who played at Cabrillo College, have also made their USF debuts this season.

The Home Record
USF is 4-0 at home this season and boasts a 38-13 (.745) record in its last 51 home games dating back to the 2009-10 season.
The Dons are 45-18 (.714) in Memorial Gymnasium in five seasons under head coach Rex Walters.