Post-Game Comments and Highlights Here

SAN FRANCISCO – USF gave Gonzaga all it could handle Saturday night before falling to the nation's second-ranked team, 81-70 before a sold crowd in Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Dons were led by Mark Tollefsen, who scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Corey Hilliard came off the bench to score a career high 13 points in a 27 minute playing stint while Kruize Pinkins finished with 11.
 
Kyle Wiltjer finished with a game-high 29 points for Gonzaga, which saw their record improve to 24-1 overall and 12-0 in the WCC. Kevin Pangos added 17 and Bryon Wesley finished with 12.
 
The loss is the Dons' fifth in a row and drops the team's season record to 9-16 and 3-10 in the WCC.
 
Both teams shot 50 percent from the field but the Zags used 23 (of 30) free throws and outrebounded USF 37-22 to fend off the Dons' upset bid. Of Gonzaga's 37 total rebounds, 16 came off the offensive glass which led to 14 second chance points.
 
Wiltjer also led the Zags in rebounding with 11 while freshman Domantas Sabonis had nine boards, including four on the offensive end.
 
A tightly-contest first half saw five lead changes and four ties, much to the delight of the overflow crowd on the Hilltop. Tollefsen scored 11 of his 18 points before intermission, including a shot at the buzzer that tied the game at 38 at the half.
 
USF enjoyed three leads early in the second half, the last coming at the 16:55 mark, 46-45.
 
After Tollefsen's jumper tied the game for the tenth time at 55 with 11:52 left, Pangos drained a three-pointer to give the Zags a 58-55 lead they would not relinquish.
 
The Dons made trailed by just three points at 68-65 with a little more than four minutes left in the game when the Zags scored the next five points – all on free throws – to boost the lead to eight at 73-65 with 2:03 remaining.
 
After a three-pointer brought the Dons to within five points at 73-68 with 1:42 showing, Gonzaga put the game away with a late 8-0 run that increased the lead to 13 at 81-68 with :31 left in the game before winning by the final 81-70 count.
 
USF will return to action Thursday night when the Dons host longtime rival Santa Clara in Memorial Gymnasium beginning at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.