Game #27
San Francisco Dons (10-16, 4-10 WCC) at Loyola Marymount Lions (8-19, 4-11 WCC)
Thursday,  Feb. 19, 2015 • 8:00 p.m.
Gersten Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.
Series Record: USF 109-40
Last Meeting: Loyola Marymount 70-69 (Jan. 24, 2015)
Audio/Video Streaming: TheW.tv (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: TWC SportsNet, CSN+ (Steve Quis, Play-by-Play; Casey Jacobsen, Analyst)

Complete USF Game Notes (PDF)

The Dandy Dons

• Now 10-16 overall and 4-10 in the West Coast Conference defeating Santa Clara, 69-62 in overtime last Thursday...win snapped a season-long five-game losing streak.
• Enter Thursday's game at LMU in eighth place in the WCC standings, one game behind seventh place Santa Clara and a half a game in front of ninth place LMU.
• Suffered a 70-69 overtime loss to LMU on Jan. 24 on the Hilltop, as Evan Payne's rebound putback at the buzzer accounted for the victory... USF has won 14 of the last 21 meetings with LMU and is 40-14 vs. the Lions dating back to the 1990-91 season...have won four out of the last five games in Gersten Pavilion.
• Are 2-7 in true road games this season and 3-9 in all games away from Memorial Gymnasium.
• Are 23-14 in the month of February dating back to the 2009-10 season, including an 11-6 mark in the last three Februarys.
• Of USF's 10 conference losses, six have been by eight points or fewer (31 total), including a pair of one point setbacks.
• Shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the overtime win over Santa Clara last Thursday...shooting 45.9 percent on the season, which ranks fourth in the WCC.
• Outrebounded Santa Clara, 41-34 but have been outboarded in 10 of 14 conference games after holding the advantage on the glass in 10 of 12 non-conference games...were +9.7 on the boards vs. non-conference foes and are -3.5 vs. conference opponents...rank fifth in the WCC in rebound average (35.2) and are sixth in rebound margin (+1.9).
• Three players - Matt Glover (5.6), Kruize Pinkins (5.4), and Mark Tollefsen (5.2) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averaging 4.6.
• Were 3-for-19 from long distance vs. Santa Clara...shooting 35.4 percent from three-point range this season, which ranks sixth in the WCC...however, shooting just 30.7 percent from beyond the arc in conference play.
• Have attempted 592 free throws this season, which ranks as the 47th highest total in the nation...however, are shooting just 61.8 percent from the line, which ranks 10th in the WCC and is the 11th lowest percentage in the nation among Division I teams...have made 68-of-108 (62.9) free throws in losing last four games by a combined total of 37 points.
• Junior Mark Tollefsen ranks in the top-10 in three WCC statistical categories, including scoring (10th; 14.2), field goal percentage (5th; 53.5) and blocks (9th; 0.8).
• Travel up the coast to Malibu to face the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday in the WCC's Game of the Week...close out the regular season with a pair of home games next week vs. Saint Mary's and Pacific.

Notables

Opening Tip
USF (10-16, 4-10 WCC) plays its final two road games of the regular season beginning with Thursday night's contest at Loyola Marymount (8-19, 4-11 WCC). The Dons have been idle since defeating Santa Clara last Thursday in overtime, 69-62 while the Lions dropped a pair of home games last week to Gonzaga (80-51) and Portland (66-63). USF will close out its Southern California swing Saturday afternoon in Malibu against the Pepperdine Waves in the WCC's Game of the Week.

Series History with Loyola Marymount
USF leads the all-time series with Loyola Marymount, 109-40. LMU took the first meeting of the season, claiming a 70-69 decision in San Francisco on Jan. 24. The Dons swept the season series last year, claiming a 75-51 victory in Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 2 and prevailing 65-61 in Los Angeles on March 1. USF has won 14 of the last 21 meetings with LMU and is 40-14 vs. the Lions dating back to the 1990-91 season.  USF has also won four out of the last five meetings vs. the Lions in Gersten Pavilion. Seven out of the last 11 games in the series have been decided by two points or fewer. The two schools have met seven times in WCC Tournament action, with the Dons holding a 5-2 edge.

First Meeting With LMU
USF failed to hold a 17-point second half lead and fell to Loyola Marymount, 70-69 on a putback, catch-and-shoot basket at the buzzer by Evan Payne. The Dons built a 13-point lead at the half and still led by 14 at 56-42 with 11:31 remaining. From there, the Lions went on a 21-7 run to tie the game at 63 on a 3-pointer by David Humphries with 4:13 left. Kruize Pinkins made 1-of-2 free throws with :20 left to give the Dons a 69-68 lead, but Payne's catch-and-shoot putback at the buzzer off an Godwin Okonji miss gave the Lions a one-point victory. LMU had 15 offensive rebounds and ouboarded USF, 38-37. USF shot 48.1 percent from the field, but were just 2-of-13 from three-point range and 15-of-26 from the line. Pinkins and Mark Tollefsen paced all USF scorers with 19 points while Tim Derksen added 15. Ayodeji Egbeyemi had 19 for the Lions while Payne and Humphries chipped in with 13 each.
 
Last Time Out
USF overcame a nine-point 49-40 deficit with 8:02 left in the game to defeat Santa Clara, 69-62 in overtime last Thursday in Memorial Gymnasium. Santa Clara was nursing a six point lead at 56-50 with 4:43 left in the game when the Dons scored the next eight points, half of them coming from Kruize Pinkins, whose tip-in tied the game at 56 with 2:04 remaining.  USF had the two chances to win the game at the end of regulation, but Matt Glover misfired on a three-pointer and Mark Tollefsen missed an awkward shot just to the left of the foul line as time expired. The Dons controlled the overtime period. With the game tied at 60, USF finished off the Broncos with a 9-2 run to salvage a season split with its longtime South Bay rival. Tim Derksen scored a team-high 18 points while Devin Watson added 13 to pace USF scorers. Pinkins overcame a shaky start and finished with 12 points while Matt Christiansen added 10. Glover and Pinkins each pulled down 10 rebounds to help USF outrebound Santa Clara, 41-34. Brandon Clark scored a game-high 21 points for Santa Clara while Jared Brownridge finished with 14. USF shot just 37.5 percent from the field but made 24-of-31 free throws compared to Santa Clara, which cashed in on 7-of-9 attempts.

The Record
At 10-16 overall, USF is six games off its pace from last season when the Dons were 16-10 overall and 9-5 in the WCC at the 26-game mark. The Dons won game No. 27 to improve to 17-10 overall and 10-5 in conference play before ultimately finishing with a 21-12 overall mark and a 13-5 conference ledger. After a 3-0 start, USF is 7-16 over its last 23 games and has not won back-to-back games since its 3-0 start.

The Wins
Of USF's nine wins this season, eight have been by double digit margins and an average of 23.4 points (82.2 to 58.8). The Dons have posted four wins of 30 points or more against South Carolina State (91-52), Notre Dame de Namur (86-46), Houston Baptist (85-54) and Portland State (77-40) and also own double digit victories over Hawaii (88-73), Montana (76-57), Portland (89-77) and Pepperdine (71-59).

The Losses
Of USF's 11 conference losses, four have been by eight points or fewer. USF  has lost a pair of one-point games to San Diego (57-56) and LMU (70-69) on its home floor, dropped a six point decision at Santa Clara (70-64), fell by four points at BYU (78-74) and fell by eight points at San Diego (77-69) after squandering a late lead.

The Road Record
USF is 2-7 in true road games this season and is 3-9 in all games away from Memorial Gymnasium. Both of the Dons road wins came at the expense of WCC foes - 77-71 at Pacific (Dec. 27) and 89-77 at Portland (Jan. 10). USF is 12-8 in its last 20 conference road games dating back to the 2012-13 season.

Fabulous in February
Over the last five seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, USF has posted a 23-14 (.621) record in the month of February, including back-to-back 5-2 marks each of the last two seasons.

Dons Defensively
After allowing a combined 305 points in its previous four games at BYU (78-74), San Diego (77-69), Portland (57-69) and Gonzaga (70-81), USF limited Santa Clara to 62 points in an overtime win last Thursday. USF ranks ninth overall in the WCC in points allowed per game (68.8). After limiting 12 non-conference opponents to 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, conference foes have clipped the nets at 46.8 percent. USF ranks seventh overall in field goal defense at 43.1 percent.

Defending the Three
USF is allowing opponents to shoot 35.9 percent from three-point range, which ranks seventh in the WCC.  WCC opponents have clipped the nets at 36.3 percent from long distance. Nine opponents have made at least nine three-pointers against USF this season.

Board Work
After outrebounding 10 of its 12 opponents by 8.3 boards a game, USF has been outrebounded in 10 of 14 conference games, 34.6-31.1. USF ranks fifth the WCC in rebound average at 35.2 per game and seventh in rebound margin (+1.7). However, USF is being outboarded by 3.5 per game in conference action. In nine wins this season, USF has held a decisive advantage on the boards (38.7-30.8). Three players -- Matt Glover (5.6), Kruize Pinkins (5.4), and Mark Tollefsen (5.2) - are averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per game while Tim Derksen is averaging 4.6. All four players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season.

From the Field
USF has sandwiched a 50 percent shooting night against Gonzaga between two chilly efforts vs. Portland (36.4) and Santa Clara (37.5). USF is shooting 45.9 percent from the field this season, which ranks fourth in the WCC. The Dons have shot 50 percent or better from the floor seven times this season, but just three times in its last 18 games.

From the Line
USF is shooting 61.8 percent from the foul line, which ranks last in the WCC and is the 11th-lowest percentate among 345 Division I teams. The Dons are slightly better in conference action at 67.5 percent. USF has made just 181-of-323 (56.0) of their free throws in 16 losses which have come by a total of 173 points. USF's 592 free throw attempts ranks as the 47th highest total in the country among Division I teams.

Beyond the Arc
The Dons have made just 39-of-139 (28.0) of its three-point attempts over the last eight games and now rank sixth in the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 35.4 (167-for-472). The Dons are shooting 40.6 percent (74-for-182) from long distance in 10 wins this season and just 32 percent (93-for-290) from beyond the arc in 16 losses.

Lineups
USF employed its seventh different starting lineup of the season against Gonzaga, as senior Kruize Pinkins came off the bench for the first time this season after making 43 consecutive starts dating back to the final 19 games of last season. The Dons used just three different starting fives all of last season.