Post-Game Highlights and Interviews

SAN FRANCISCO – It's not something the Dons want to make a habit of, but for the second straight game USF was able to overcome a sizeable deficit to earn its second conference win of the season with a 107-95 victory over the Portland Pilots.
 
Trailing by 15 points at 81-66 midway through the second half, USF outscored Portland 41-14 over the last 12:59 of the game to earn the 12-point victory in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center. It was the first time USF went over the 100-point mark since posting a 104-70 victory over Portland on Jan. 12, 2011 and was the Dons highest point total since tallying 129 against Holy Names during the 2009-10 season.
 
The win improves USF's record to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in WCC play while the Pilots see their record even at 8-8 overall and 2-1.
 
Five Dons scored in double figures, led by senior guard Tim Derksen's career high 27 points. Devin Watson finished with 22, Ronnie Boyce added 15 and Nate Renfrom came off the bench to score a season high 13 points. Junior Dont'e Reynolds posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 12 points with 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.
 
Derksen made 10-of-12 shots from the field, including all three of his 3-point attempts en route to a 27-point scoring night. He scored 22 of his 27 points after intermission.
 
Alec Wintering scored a game high 31 points for Portland while Jazz Marshall came off the bench to score 22. Wintering was 15-of15 from the line while Johnson nailed four three-pointers.
 
The Dons shot 58.3 percent from the field and made 11-of-23 of their 3-point attempts while Portland shot 43.3 percent for the game.
 
Wintering's 23 first half points helped Portland open a 62-51 lead at the break. Portland shot 60.6 percent over the first 20 minutes while the Dons more than matched the effort by shooting 62.1 percent. However, the Pilots eight first half 3-pointers led to an 11-point cushion at intermission.
 
Though the deficit wasn't as large as the 19-point hole the Dons had to dig themselves out of a week ago against Pacific, the turn of events against the Pilots were perhaps more startling.
 
The Dons were staring at a 15-point, 81-66 deficit with 12:59 left in the game but Derksen's three-pointer fueled a 41-14 run to close the game. Watson tied the game at 89 with a 3-pointer of his own at the 7:21 mark and after a Portland turnover, Derksen gave the Dons their first lead of the second half by completing a three-point play.
 
All told, Derksen scored 15 of the Dons' 41 points during the decisive stretch.
 
After shooting 60.6 percent from the field in the first half, Portland managed to shoot just 26.5 percent and score 33 points in the second frame.
 
 "Our zone really helped us in the second half," said head coach Rex Walters. "I'm hard-headed so I give a lot of credit to Luke Wicks and our staff on that one. It gave us a chance to get some stops.
 
"We didn't run a lot offensively but we did a good job of finding the open man. A lot of guys really stepped up tonight. Chase (Foster) hit two really big threes for us that might go a little unnoticed and Dont'e posted a double-double in just 17 minutes."
 
For the second consecutive game, the Dons had at least four players score in double-figures. Guards Derksen, Watson and Boyce combined for 64 of the team's 107 points while Renfro and Reynolds also reached double figures.
 
"We have some guys who can really score the ball and if we guard and defend we become a difficult matchup," said Walters. "Our guys know if they stay together and compete, we'll never be out of a game. We're getting a little better and more mature with each game and gaining some experience and confidence."
 
USF will return to action Saturday night when it plays host to the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who survived an upset bid by Santa Clara Thursday afternoon. The game will tip-of at 8:00 p.m. and be televised nationally on ESPN2.