SAN FRANCISCO – With 7:33 in the first half, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team found itself trailing No. 15 Saint Mary's 27-16. From that point on, USF went on a 19-11 run to cut the deficit to three going into the locker room. The momentum the Dons gained carried over to the second half as USF completed the upset over the Gaels, winning 70-63 on Thursday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
USF (15-13, 7-8 WCC) received tremendous play up and down the lineup. The Dons had three players finish in double figures and was led by
Frankie Ferrari's game-high 20 points. He also dished out a game-high seven assists.
Jordan Ratinho finished with 13 and
Jimbo Lull scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Dons duo of Lull and
Matt McCarthy did a phenomenal job of defending SMC's Jock Landale. Landale finished with 19 points before fouling out late in the second half, he was one of three Gaels (24-4, 13-2 WCC) to finish in double figures. Evan Fitzner and Emmett Naar scored 17 and 16 respectively.
With 3:50 in the game, Ferrari drained a 3-point field goal to give the Dons the lead for good, going up 59-56. With 31 seconds left in game,
Nate Renfro hit a free throw to give the Dons their largest lead, up eight, a lead they would not relinquish. SMC got a tip in with 12 seconds remaining but the Dons' relentless defense did not allow the Gaels to get off a shot from beyond the arc.
COACHES QUOTE
GAME NOTES
- Tonight's win over the Gaels was USF's 100th. The Dons are now 100-80 over their rivals from the East Bay.
- This is the first win over a top-25 team since the Dons took down No. 24 Gonzaga 66-65 on Feb. 18, 2012.
- Tonight's 70-63 win over the Gaels is the first since Feb. 20, 2014 when the Dons defeated SMC 73-62.
- Tonight's win snaps SMC's perfect road record. The Gaels entered tonight 9-0 in road contests, they were one of two teams to remain undefeated.
- The Dons improved to 2-11 when trailing at halftime, USF's only other win when behind at the intermission came against Radford on Dec. 19.
NEXT UP
The Dons won't have long to enjoy this one, they return to action on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. when LMU comes to down. Saturday's contest will be televised NBC Sports California. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at
Dons Ticket Central.
Please support your USF Men's Basketball team by clicking on the link
here! Go Dons!
