Game 8
San Francisco Dons (4-3, 0-0 WCC) vs. Montana Grizzlies (2-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
Friday,  Dec. 4, 2015 • 6:00 p.m. PT
Dahlberg Arena • Missoula, Mt.
Series Record: USF 7-0
Last Meeting: USF 76-57 (Nov. 30, 2014)
Audio Stream: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: None

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

USF at a Glance

• Fell to 4-3 after suffering an 81-77 home loss to Eastern Washington on Tuesday night...the Eagles made 14 3-pointers in the game...Devin Watson scored a game-high 25 points for USF.
• Face Montana for the sixth consectuive season on Friday in Missoula...Dons are 7-0 all-time against the Grizzlies...USF's three wins in Missoula have come by a combined total of five points.
• Are 1-1 on the road this season, posting a win at Illinois-Chicago and dropping a seven-point decision at Fresno State...were 4-7 in true road games last season but have an 18-18 road record over the last three-plus seasons.
• Four of USF's games this season have been decided by seven points or fewer, including three contests which have been decided by four points or fewer.
• Of the Dons four wins this season, two have been by a combined total of four points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside) while two others have been by a combined total of 47 points (80-54 vs. Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State)...were 1-4 in games decided by five points or fewer last season.
• Have trailed at halftime in five of its seven games this season and are 2-3 in those contests...averaging 28.7 points (201 total) and shooting 35.6 percent (68-for-191) in the first half this season.
• Allowed a season-high 81 points to Eastern Washington after holding previous three opponents under 70 points...now rank third in the WCC in opponent scoring average (65.7) and opponent field goal percentage (.370).
• Sophomore point guard Devin Watson leads the WCC in scoring average at 19.7 ppg...has been in double-figures in all seven games this season including three 20-point games...also ranks sixth in assist average at 5.6.
• Senior guard Tim Derksen is averaging 14.4 ppg and 6.7 boards a game...he ranks ninth among WCC players in scoring and and ebounding from his two-guard position.
• Both Watson and Derksen have scored in double-figures in each of the first seven games of the year and are averaging 34.1 ppg this season (239 total) - nearly half of the Dons scoring average of 70.3.
• Junior Dont'e Reynolds recorded his first career double-double vs. Eastern Washington finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds...Reynolds now leads the Dons in rebounding at 7.1 per game.
• After scoring a combined 72 points in the first two games of the season, USF's bench has scored a total of 57 points in the last five games (10.7)..bench is averaging 18.4 points per game this season (129 total).
• After going 22-of-39 from the free throw line in the opener at Illinois-Chicago, USF is 84-for-116 (72.4) over its last six games...shooting 68.4 percent from the line this season - fifth best in the WCC.
• Have outrebounded five of its first seven opponents, narrowly losing the battle of the boards to Fresno State (35-38) and UC Santa Barbara (35-34)...are +49 in the rebound column and rank fourth in the WCC in rebound margin (+4.6).

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (4-3, 0-0 WCC) plays its last non-conference road game of the season Friday night when the Dons meet the Montana Grizzlies (2-3, 0-0 Big Sky) at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. PT. The Dons are coming off a 81-77 loss to Eastern Washington on Tuesday while the Grizzlies suffered a 69-63 setback at Pepperdine last Sunday. Friday's game marks the sixth consecutive season USF and Montana have played each other.

Series History with Montana
USF leads the all-time series with Montana, 7-0. The two schools have met each of the last five seasons, with USF claiming a 76-57 victory on Nov. 30 of last season on the Hilltop. In their last visit to Missoula, the Dons came away with a 75-74 victory on Nov. 22, 2013. USF's three wins in Missoula have come by a total of five points (72-71 in 2003-04; 65-62 in 2011-12; 75-74 in 2013-14).

Last Year's Meeting With Montana
Kruize Pinkins matched his career-high for the second time this season with 26 points to lead USF to a 76-57 victory over Montana on Nov. 30 in San Francisco. Pinkins made 9-of-11 shots from the field, including his only three-point attempt, and converted all seven of his free throws to finish with 26 points for the third time in his career. Junior Tim Derksen made 6-of-7 shots from the floor and finished with 17 points while Mark Tollefsen reached double figures for the sixth consecutive game, finishing with 15 points. The Dons, who never trailed in the game, shot a season-best 64.9 percent from the field while holding the Grizzlies to 33.3 percent shooting. USF also held a 36-25 advantage on the boards. The Dons led by as many as 25 points at 71-46 with 4:21 left after Tollefsen converted a pair of free thows before winning by the final count of 76-57.

Last Time Out 
USF ran into a hot-shooting Eastern Washington team Tuesday night at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center and 14 three-pointers later the Eagles walked away with an 81-77 victory over the Dons. Devin Watson led USF in scoring with 25 points, Tim Derksen added 16 and Don't'e Reynolds recorded his first double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Felix Van Hofe's 20 points led a balanced Eagle scoring attack. Austin McBroom made 5-of-9 three-pointers and finished with 19 points while Bogdan Bliznyuk added 17 and Venky Jois contributed 11. Van Hofe and McBroom accounted for nine of the Eagles 14 three-pointers on the night. USF shot 55.9 percent from the field and outrebounded EWU, 36-22. However, the Eagles dialed in 14-of-30 of their three-point tries compared to USF, which made just 3-of-15 shots from long distance. USF fell behind by as many as 17 points midway through the first half and trailed 40-29 at intermission after the Eagles drained seven of their 14 3-pointers over the first 20 minutes. The Dons trailed by 11 at 78-68 with 2:45 remaining but used a 11-2 run to cut the lead to 80-77 with :50 remaining. The Dons missed a chance to tie the game with :07 left when Mladen Djordjevic's three-pointer was off the mark.

The Wins and Losses
USF has won four games this season by a margin of 12.7 points and has lost three games by a total of 18 points (4.2). Of the four victories, two have been by a combined total of four points (78-75 at Illinois-Chicago; 58-57 vs. UC Riverside) while two others have been by a combined total of 47 points (80-54; Rice; 67-47 vs. Delaware State). The Dons never led in losses to Fresno State and UC Santa Barbara and led only briefly in a loss to Eastern Washington (last at 7-5; 16:49). The Dons also used a last second layup by Tim Derksen to defeat UC Riverside.  Of USF's 14 wins last season, 10 were by double-digit margins.

Dons Defensively
After holding Delaware State to a season-low 47 points on 33.3 percent shooting from the floor, the Dons allowed a season-high 81 points against Eastern Washington. The Eagles also shot a season-best 50.7 percent from the field, including 14-of-30 (46.7) from long distance. The Dons are allowing opponents just 65.7 points and 38.8 percent shooting from the floor. Both figures rank third in the WCC.

From the Floor
The Dons shot a season-best 55.8 percent from the field Tuesday night against Eastern Washington, marking the second time this season USF has shot 50 percent or better from the floor (Rice; 50.8). The Dons are now are 43.9 percent from the field at the seven-game mark of the season, which ranks fifth in the WCC. USF shot 50 percent or better from the field just eight times all last season and finished fourth in the WCC in field goal percentage at 45.1 percent.

Toeing the Line
After making just 22-of-39 (56.4) of its free throws at Illinois-Chicago, USF has knocked down 84-of-116 (72.4) of its free throws over its last six games and is now shooting 68.4 percent from the line this season -- fifth best in the WCC. Last season, USF ranked last in the WCC with a 62.9 free throw percentage, which was the lowest mark since the 1985-86 season (62.4).

From Distance
After making a season high nine 3-pointers against Delaware State, USF managed to connect on just 3-of-15 of its long distance tries against Eastern Washington. The Dons are now shooting 31.5 percent (46-for-146) from three-point range after seven games this season -- sixth-best in the WCC. Sophomore Devin Watson tops the team in 3's made (14) while Chase Foster leads the team in three-point accurary (40.0; 12-for-30).

Board Work
USF has outrebounded four of its first seven opponents and is +49 in the rebound column after seven games. USF narrowly lost the battle of the boards to Fresno State (35-38) and UC Santa Barbara (35-34) and are averaging 41.4 boards a game, which ranks third in the WCC. USF also ranks fourth in the conference in rebound margin (+7.0). Five players - Dont'e Reynolds (7.1), Tim Derksen (6.7), Montray Clemons (4.4) and Matt McCarthy (4.0) - are averaging at least 4.0 boards per game.

Good Hands
The Dons commited 17 turnovers against Eastern Washington, marking the fourth time in seven games USF has made 15 or more turnovers in a game this season. The Dons have committed 101 turnovers in seven game (14.4) compared to the opponents, which have made 72 on the year. USF ranks 10th in the WCC in turnover margin (4.14) and eighth in assist-turnover ratio (0.9). Of the Dons 170 total field goals, 94 (55.2) have come via an assist. USF is also averaging 4.1 steals a game to rank 10th in the WCC.

The Bench
USF's bench scored a combined 72 points over the first two games of the season vs. Illinois-Chicago (35) and vs. Rice (37), but has been outscored 107-57 in its last five contests at Fresno State (12-24), UC Riverside (0-19), UC Santa Barbara (19-20), Delaware State (13-33) and Eastern Washington (13-11). USF's reserves are averaging 18.4 ppg this season (129 in 7 games), compared to the opponent's at 22.1 (155).

Only the Half of It
USF has been plagued by slow starts in each of its last five games. The Dons have scored just 122 first half points over its last five games (24.4) against Fresno State (27), UC Riverside (23), UC Santa Barbara (20), Delaware State (23) and Eastern Washington (29). USF has trailed at haftime in five of seven games and are averaging 28.7 points (201 total) while shooting 35.6 (68-for-191) from the floor over the first 20 minutes of games this season.

High-Scoring Backcourt
USF's starting guard combination of sophomore Devin Watson and Tim Derksen is shaping up to be one of the best guard tandems in the WCC.  The two players have combined to score 34.1 ppg (239 total) and have led the team in scoring in all seven games this season. The duo accounts for 48.5 percent (239 of 492) of the Dons point production this season.

Watson Leads WCC in Scoring
Seven games into the season sophomore point guard Devin Watson is averaging a WCC-best 19.7 points a game. He has been in double-figures in all seven games this season, including three 20-point contests (24 at Fresno State; 27 vs. UC Riverside; 25 vs. Eastern Washington). He is also averaging 5.6 assists per game (6th WCC). Watson is averaging 8.3 ppg in the first half of games and 11.4 over the final 20 minutes.

Dont'e Doubles Up
Junior Dont'e Reynolds recorded his first career double-double Tuesday night against Eastern Washington, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds - both career highs. He now leads the Dons in rebounding with a 7.1 per game average, slightly ahead of Tim Derksen at 6.7. Reynolds and Derksen (17-12 at Illinois-Chicago; 11-13 vs. UC Riverside).

Derksen on USF's 3-Point Charts
Tim Derksen has made 8-for-21 (.381) of his 3-point tries over his first seven games and is now shooting 39.3 percent (105-for-267) from long distance for his career, which is tied for seventh on USF's all-time career list. Shawn Sykes (1988-90) is USF's all-time leader in 3-point percentage at 44.4 (98-for-218).

Scouting Report

About Montana
Are 2-3 on the season after suffering a pair of road defeats to North Dakota State, 73-53 and Pepperdine (69-63)...senior forward Martin Breunig is third in the Big Sky Conference in scoring averaging 20 points a game and is tied for second in rebounding at 10 per outing…he is also shooting 67.9 percent from the field, which ranks second in the conference…Breunig is coming off back-to-back double-doubles against NDSU (28-12) and Pepperdine (28-10)…started last season picked eighth in the Big Sky's preseason poll but finished 20-13 overall and earned a share of the Big Sky regular season title…fell in the conference championship game to Eastern Washington but earned an NIT berth…second-year head coach Travis DeCuire, a 1994 Montana graduate, spend six seasons as an assistant at California under Mike Montgomery before taking over at his alma mater.