Game #5
San Francisco Dons (3-1, 0-0 WCC) vs. Evansville Purple Aces (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014 • 3:00 p.m. (PT)
Germain Arena • Estero, Fla.
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting

Watch Live | Audio Only

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Now 3-1 on the season after last night's 62-47 loss to Florida Gulf Coast...started the season 3-0 for the first time since 1992-93.
• Managed to shoot just 25.4 percent from the field in last night's loss to FGCU...Mark Tollefsen scored a team-high 16 points while Montray Clemons had 10.
• Face Evansville for the first time in program history...USF is 10-16 all-time against presently aligned teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Last night's 25.4 percent shooting performance dropped the team's field goal percentage from 52.7 percent down to 46.1 percent...last year the Dons finished second in the WCC and tied for 28th nationally in field goal percentage at a 47.3 percent.
• Shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc after last night's 23.1 percent (3-for-13) performance.
• Shooting just 50 percent (54-for-108) from the line after four games...USF shot just 64.8 percent (523-for-807) from the line last season, which ranked last in the WCC.
• Have held the first four opponents to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor and own a 48.2-33.8 advantage on the boards.
• Rank second in the WCC in points allowed (58.2) and field goal defense (34.2).
• Senior Kruize Pinkins leads the team in scoring (16.5) and rebounding (8.3)...he is also shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
• Prior to the Gulf Coast Showcase, USF had played only one game in its basketball history in the state of Florida, falling to Rick Barry's Miami Hurricanes, 95-83 on Dec. 17, 1963.
• Dons with Florida ties include Rex Walters (former head coach at Florida Atlantic), assistant coach Brent Crews (Florida Atlantic / Chipola), Pinkins (Marianna / Chiploa College) and Montray Clemons (Pensacola State College).
• The win over Hawaii was Rex Walters' 101st coaching victory at USF...six other Don coaches have reached the 100-win milestone.
• Coming off a 21-12 record and an NIT appearance last season...21 wins were the highest total since the 1981-82 season...also tied for second in the WCC with a 13-5 record, posting its highest conference win total since 1976-77.
• Signed Dont'e Reynolds of Kinston, NC (Odessa College) to a national letter of intent on Monday...he joins Cedric Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL / Dillard HS) in this year's recruiting class.
• Return home to face Montana on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium...general admission tickets start as low as $7.00.

Opening Tip
USF (3-1, 0-0 WCC) looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season tonight when it faces the Evansville Purple Aces (3-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley) in the consolation game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Dons suffered a 62-47 setback to Florida Gulf Coast last night while the Purple Aces fell to Green Bay, 64-62. Tonight's game marks the first ever meeting between the two schools.

Series History with Evansville
Tonight's game marks the first ever meeting between USF and Evansville. The Dons are 10-16 all-time against teams currently aligned in the Missouri Valley Conference, including Bradley (2-4), Drake (1-1), Illinois State (0-1), Loyola-Chicago (3-3), Missouri State (0-4) and Wichita State (4-5). USF has never faced Indiana State, Northern Iowa or Evansville.

Gulf Coast Showcase Field
USF is joined in the Gulf Coast Showcase field by Evansville, East Carolina, Fresno State, Green Bay, Hawaii, Marist and host Florida Gulf Coast. The Dons are a combined 27-13 all-time against team's in this year's Gulf Coast Showcase, including Hawaii (11-4), Florida Gulf Coast (0-1), Fresno State (13-7), Marist (2-0), and Green Bay (1-1).

The Start
USF's 3-1 start is tied for its best four-game beginning under Rex Walters. The Dons won five of their first six games in 2012-13 and got off to a 4-1 start in the 2011-12 season.

Florida Ties
Several current and future Dons have ties to the state of Florida. Head Coach Rex Walters served two seasons (2006-08) as the head coach at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where he coached current USF assistant coach Brent Crews, who is a native of Chipola. Senior Kruize Pinkins is a native of Marianna and played two seasons at Chipola College before transferring to USF for his junior season. Junior Montray Clemons played last season at Pensacola State College. USF also signed Cedric Wright, a 6-6 forward from Dillard HS in Fort Lauderdale and Dont'e Reynolds, a native of Kinston, NC, who played last season at Chipola (Fla.) College before transferring to Odessa College, to national letters of intent.

Rare Appearance in the Sunshine State
Prior to Monday night's game against Hawaii, USF had played just one game in its history in the state of Florida, falling to Rick Barry's Miami Hurricanes, 95-83 on Dec. 17, 1963. Former USF head coach and current broadcaster Jim Brovelli was a senior guard on that Dons team and finished the contest with eight points. The game was the last of a three-game road trip that took the Dons to Oklahoma City, Loyola-New Orleans and eventually, Miami.

Last Time Out
USF managed to shoot just 25.4 percent from the floor and dropped a 62-47 decision to Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday night. The Dons were outscored 12-4 over the last 6:09 of the first half and trailed at intermission, 26-18. The Eagles then scored 12 of the first 14 points of the second period to increase their lead to 38-20 and built as much as a 26-point cushion late in the game. Mark Tollefsen led all USF scorers with 16 points while Montray Clemons chipped in with 10.

USF Basketball Under Rex Walters
USF is 101-95 in six-plus seasons under head coach Rex Walters, including 48-45 in WCC play. After going 23-37 over his first two seasons, Walters has guided the Dons to a 78-58 (.574) record and three postseason appearances over the last four-plus seasons (2010-11 College Insider.com; 2011-12 College Basketball Invitational; 2013-14 NIT). Last season, Walters was named the the WCC's Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers, becoming the first USF coach to win the award since Pete Barry in 1980-81