Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO -- Despite a game-high 24 points from senior
Cole Dickerson, USF's season came to an end tonight with a 71-63 loss to LSU in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Dons finish the year with a 21-12 record while the Tigers will take a 20-13 mark into their second round game against top-seeded SMU, which defeated UC Irvine tonight in Dallas.
After both teams struggled to make shots in the first half, especially from long distance, the Tigers nailed six three-pointers after intermission to seize control of the game.
Jarell Martin, who accounted for three of LSU's eight three-pointers in the game, finished with a a team-high 16 points for LSU. Johnny Bryant and Shavon Coleman contributed 13 each.
Tim Derksen was the only other USF player besides Dickerson to reach double-figures, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
Avry Holmes had nine points and
Matt Glover and
Kruize Pinkins finished with seven each. Pinkins also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Dons more than held their own on the boards against a long and athletic LSU squad, outrebounding the Tigers 40-34.
However, USF, which entered the game shooting 47.5 percent on the season, shot just 41.5 percent from the field, including an icy 3-for-23 from three-point range.
After the Tigers jumped out to an 11-4 lead, Â Dons trailed just just three points at intermission, 33-30.
The Dons were down by just four points at 44-40 after a Derksen layup at the 14:32 mark, but a slam dunk by Jordan Mickey and a three-pointer by Coleman gave the Tigers a 49-40 lead with 13:11 remaining.
USF trailed 52-45 with 10:34 remaining when the Tigers ripped off nine straight points to seize control of the game and take a 61-45 lead with 8:15 remaining.
The Dons didn't go down quietly, as USF cut the lead down to six at 68-62 after a slam by
Mark Tollefsen with 2:17 remaining and had a chance to cut the lead to four on two occasions but managed to score just one point the rest of the way.
With the win, LSU advances to the second round to take on top-seeded SMU, while the Dons will look back on a season in which they posted their most wins since the 1981-82 campaign.
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
"I love how hard our guys competed - every single-game. It's a good group - I wish I could have done more to help them."
"I love how Avry ran our team this year. He wanted the opportunity and once he got it, he made the most of it. He was absolutely ready for it. I hope he builds on that foundation."
"We need to want more in our workouts and strength training this spring. We struggle against realy phyical teams and we know where we need to get to in order to take that next step."
"Defensively I thought we gave up way too many layups and paint touches but we had chances. I want our guys to take those shots. I have the utmost confidence in them. Cole was always going to have a first look."
"I thought they made a concerted effort to get the ball to Bryant and he ended up going to the line 10 times. He's a load. They have three potential pro prospects in O'Bryant, Mickey and Martin. They are beasts. We're a big team and they made us look small tonight."
"Cole gave up two inches and 40 pounds and he battled with those guys."
"We wanted to play a high-major program. We don't get many opportunities to play a high major on our home court. I hope the NIT felt we gave an effort to be proud of and we were deserving to be here. I think this is something we can build on."
