Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO - It wasn't anything close to the 28-point drubbing USF suffered a little more than a month ago in Spokane, but a 75-65 home loss to Gonzaga Saturday night was a reminder there is still a signifcant gap between first and second place in the West Coast Conference.
Led by Sam Dower's game-high 24 points, Gonzaga put an end to USF's three-game winning streak before a packed crowd inside Memorial Gymnasium. Gary Bell, Jr. scored 13 points and Przernel Karnowski added 12 to lead the Zags to their 20th win of the season and a 10-1 mark in WCC.
Avry Holmes scored 18 points while
Mark Tollefsen added 15 to pace USF, which fell to 14-9 overall and 7-4 in the West Coast Conference.
Cole Dickerson, who had scored over 20 points in each of his last two games, was effectively double teammed all night and finished wityh just six points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor before fouling out.
Kruize Pinkins, USF's second leading scorer and rebounder, scored just six points and fouled out with over eight minutes left in the game.
USF, which came into the game shooting 48.6 percent on the season, struggled to find offensive rhythm and shot just 34.5 percent from the floor.
Gonzaga also canned 34-of-41 of its free throw attempts and outrebounded the Dons, 40-35.
USF jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the game, only to see Gonzaga reel off 13 straight points to quiet the sellout crowd inside Memorial Gymnasium.
However, a three-pointer by Holmes just before the horn cut Gonzaga's lead to 32-28 at intermission.
USF trailed by just five at 43-38 after Holmes drained another three, but Dower scored the next six points to boost the Zags lead back to 11 at 49-38 with 11:20 left. The Zags opened their largest lead of the game at the 9:17 mark of the second half after a pair of Kevin Pangos free throws gave Gonzaga a 54-40 lead.
The Dons could draw no closer than seven down the stretch before falling by the final count of 75-65.
USF will return to action on Thursday when it visits the San Diego Toreros beginning at 7:00 p.m. The two-game road trip will conclude Saturday night in Provo against the BYU Cougars.
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
"It was a great environment tonight but I thought our guys were a little rushed an didn't playas smart we are capable of playing. We hurried a little more than we needed."
"Defensively, I thought we did some things well but they took advantage of their free throw opportunities. They made (34) more than we shot (22). We need to find a way to keep them off the line."
"When you shoot 34 percent on your home court and attempt fewer free throws than the other team makes, you are going to lose."
"We weren't efficient offensively. We didn't make the simple plays. Their length bothers us and I think Mark (Few) did a great job in his post defense. That's the first team that's been able to double us and take us out of our stuff. They have a great combination of size, athleticism and feel."
