Five Dons Reach Double-Digit Scoring as Gaels Clinch Outright WCC Title
(San Francisco) – A capacity crowd at War Memorial Gym saw San Francisco battle mightily before falling to No. 23 Saint Mary's 67-60 on Saturday night in the regular season finale. With the win, the Gaels (25-5, 14-2 WCC) clinched the West Coast Conference title outright, edging out Gonzaga.
A back-and-forth first half saw the Dons carry a 37-36 lead into the locker room at halftime. Caloiaro led all scorers at the half with 12 points on .625 shooting (5-8) from the floor, including .666 (2-3) from three-point land. Cody Doolin and Green chipped in with eight points each.
The Dons came out cold in the second half shooting just .267 (8-30) from the floor, including a cold .222 (2-9) from three-point range. Saint Mary's connected at a .458 (11-24) rate after the break.
Four Gaels reached double-digit figures, led by Clint Steindl's 16 points on 4-11 shooting. Steindl kept the Gaels within reach in the first frame, shooting a remarkable .750 (3-4) from distance. Matthew Dellavedova added nine points for Saint Mary's in the first frame, finishing with 14 to go along with six assists.
USF owns the No. 5 seed in the 2012 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament. The Dons will take on the winner of Wednesday's No. 8 Portland vs. No. 9 Santa Clara play-in game on Thursday at 6:00 PM at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The contest will be televised nationally by BYUtv and streamed live on USFDons.com via Stretch Internet.
