SAN FRANCISCO – USF notched its third consecutive win Saturday night as the Dons turned back Loyola Marymount, 74-64 in War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
The win improves USF's record to 17-8 overall and 7-5 in the West Coast Conference. The Lions drop to 11-12 and 4-8 in WCC. The Dons picked up one game in the conference standings on fourth-place Santa Clara, which dropped 90-55 decision to top-ranked Gonzaga tonight in Spokane, setting up Thursday's showdown with the Broncos on the Hilltop.
 
Ronnie Boyce led the Dons in scoring for the third consecutive game, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Matt McCarthy notched his third double-double of the season, matching his career high with 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
 
Chase Foster added nine and Charles Minlend and Jordan Ratinho chipped in with eight apiece.
 
Buay Tuach was the only Lion in double-figures with 16 points.
 
The Dons shot 50.9 percent from the floor, making the 11th time this season USF has made at least half of its shots from the field.
 
USF trailed only briefly in the game after Tuach hit a three-pointer to open the scoring.
 
The Dons led by as many as 11 points at 37-26 before the Lions trimmed the lead to seven at the break, 40-33.
 
USF's lead was 11 at 54-43 with 12:39 remaining when LMU reeled off seven straight points to cut the lead to four at 54-50 with 10:51 left. The Lions drew to within two at 59-57 after a layin by Stefan Jovanovic with 5:53 remaining.
 
The Dons then seized control of the game with a 16-9 run to boost the lead to 13 at 72-59 with just under a minute remaining.
 
"It was a gritty game – exactly what we expected," said USF head coach Kyle Smith. "We wilted a little bit but we didn't break. Their athleticism and big bodies got to us a little bit but we were able to persevere and make some big plays down the stretch."
 
For USF, it was just its sixth game this season decided by 10 points or less.
 
"It felt like a tournament game," said Smith. "There was a great atmosphere in here tonight and we had an opportunity to do some situational subbing tonight. That's what a February conference game looks like when you are jockeying for position in the standings."
 
USF held its seventh straight opponent under 70 points and is allowing just 62 points over the last seven games. Sophomore Nate Renfro set the tone for the Dons defensively early in the game.
 
"Nate gave us just about the best 12-minute defensive stretch I've ever seen to open the game," said Smith. "He was everywhere, blocking and altering shots which got us going in transition."
 
USF will return to action next Thursday night when the Dons host the Santa Clara Broncos in a pivotal WCC match-up beginning at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for USF's last two home games against the Broncos and BYU on Feb. 11 are available on-line at USFDons.com/tickets.

Parking is available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots at the top of Hayes-Healy garage on Golden Gate Avenue adjacent to the gymnasium. Campus parking lots of choice include the lot at the Koret Center, located at the corner of Turk and Parker and the Hayes-Healy underground garage, located on Golden Gate Ave. just past the Sobrato Center. View campus parking map here.