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First-Place Dons Renew Rivalry With Saint Mary's

First-Place Dons Renew Rivalry With Saint Mary's
Matt Glover scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists Thursday at Pacific.
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Game #18
USF Dons (11-6, 4-1 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's Gaels (12-5, 2-2 WCC)
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 • 3:00 p.m.
McKeon Pavilion • Moraga, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads, 103-72
Last Meeting: Saint Mary's 67-63 (Jan. 30, 2013)
Audio Stream: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: CSNCA, ROOT, TheW.tv (Glen Kuiper, Play-by-Play; Dan Belluomini, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons
  • Improved to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the West Coast Conference after Thursday night's 81-72 overtime win at Pacific...Avry Holmes scored a career-high 18 points to lead three Dons in double-figures.
  • Have won a season-high three straight games, five out of the last seven and are 8-3 in the last 11 games following a 100-82 road loss at No. 17 Oregon on Nov. 24.
  • Are tied for first place in the WCC standings with Gonzaga - one game ahead of Pepperdine and Santa Clara.
  • Team's 4-1 WCC record matches its best five-game conference start under Rex Walters...the 2010-11 team also started 4-1 before improving to 5-1 after its first six conference games.
  • Were 7-10 at the 17-game mark a year ago and eventually fell to 7-11 after 18 games...also dropped the first five conference games last season.
  • Are 3-3 on the road this season and are 7-3 in last 10 road games dating back to last season...have also won six out of its last seven conference road games dating back to last year.
  • Have dropped 16 straight games to Saint Mary's dating back to the 2005-06 season...Dons last win in the series came on Jan. 16, 2006 at USF (52-52)...USF is just 1-20 vs. Saint Mary's dating back to 2003-04.
  • Averaging 78.7 points per game, which ranks third in the WCC...scored a season-low 41 points at Gonzaga but have averaged  77.3 ppg (232 total) in last three contests - all wins.
  • Shooting 39.2 percent (93-for-237) over the last four games after shooting at a 51.1 percent clip over the first 13 contests...still rank second in the WCC in field goal percentage behind Gonzaga at 48.2 percent.
  • Shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range, which ranks fourth in the WCC...are 28-for-72 (38.8) from long distance in the last four games after making 25-of-54 (46.2) 3's in its previous four contests.
  • Have made 35-of-46 free throws (76 percent) over the last two games but still rank last in the WCC in free throw percentage at 63.5 percent.
  • Have allowed just 67.0 ppg over last four contests..rank seventh in the WCC in opponent defense allowing 74.6 ppg.
  • Rank ninth in the WCC in field goal defense at 45.5 percent....opponents are also shooting at a 37.4 clip from 3-point range, the third-highest percentage in the WCC.
  • Balanced scoring column sees the top six scorers averaging between 13.4 and 9.3 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season...rank as the WCC's third-highest scoring team despite not having a player higher than 14th among conference scoring leaders.
  • Sophomore Avry Holmes leads USF in scoring in conference games with a 15. ppg average.
  • Junior Kruize Pinkins is averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds a game - tops in the WCC.
  • Are 2-1 in overtime games this season and 11-4 in extra period games under Rex Walters.
  • Will play the next five games at home starting Thursday night vs. BYU.

TIP-OFF: USF (11-6, 4-1 WCC) looks for its fourth consecutive win on Saturday when the Dons meet the Saint Mary's Gaels (12-5, 2-2 WCC) at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga. The Dons are coming off a 81-72 overtime victory at Pacific on Thursday while the Gaels dropped a 57-55 home decision to Santa Clara. Today's game is being broadcast in the Bay Area on CSNCA with Glen Kuiper and former USF head coach Dan Bellumoni calling the action from courtside.

SERIES HISTORY: USF leads the all-time series with Saint Mary's, 103-72. However, the Gaels have won 16 straight and 20 of the last 21 games against the Dons. Saint Mary's current 16-game winning streak is the longest winning skein in the series by either school. USF's last win against Saint Mary's came on Jan, 16, 2006 on the Hilltop. The Dons have dropped 10 straight in McKeon Pavilion dating back to its last win on Feb. 8, 2003, 68-67. The two schools have also met five times in WCC Tournament play, with the Gaels holding a 4-1 advantage.

LAST YEAR'S GAMES VS. SAINT MARY'S: USF dropped both games in the season series to Saint Mary's last year, losing 78-72 in Moraga and 67-63 in San Francisco. In the first meeting on Jan 12 at McKeon Pavilion, USF trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but went on a 19-8 run to take a 36-35 lead at intermission. The Dons trailed by just four points at 66-62 with 2:03 left but the Gaels made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Cody Doolin finishe with a team-high 16 points while De'End Parker added 15, including a 70-footer as time expired. In the return game in San Francisco on Jan. 30, USF trailed by 16 points at 57-41 with 6:11 left but cut the lead down to three at 63-60 with :27 left. Doolin's 16 points led USF in scoring. The Dons were outrebounded 44-22.

LAST TIME OUT: USF rallied from a 36-30 halftime deficit to defeat Pacific, 81-72 in overtime Thursday night in Stockton. The Dons outscored the Tigers, 18-9 in the extra period to earn it third straight victory. Three Dons scored in double figures, led by Avry Holmes, who scored a career high 18 points to go along with eight assists. Matt Glover finished with 16 points and nine rebounds while Cole Dickerson chipped in 14 points to go along with eight rebounds. USF held Pacific to 31.6 percent shooting for the game, including 25 percent (9-for-36) after intermission.
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