PROVO, Utah – Trailing by 14 with eight minutes to play the University of San Francisco refused to go quietly, going on an epic 28-8 run down the stretch to earn 77-71 road victory over BYU on Thursday evening at the Marriott Center.
 
Frankie Ferrari was stellar, he finished with a career-high 23 points and willed the Dons back.  USF (21-6, 9-4 WCC) finished 42.9 percent from the field and was 41.4 percent from 3-point range going 12-for-29.
 
Joining Ferrari in double figures was Jordan Ratinho with 11 and Matt McCarthy with 10, but the Dons got contributions throughout the lineup as eight players scored at least two points.  BYU (18-11, 10-4 WCC) was led by the duo of Yoeli Childs and TJ Haws who combined to score 53 of BYU's 71 points.  Childs finished with a game-high 28 points along with 10 rebounds, Haws had 25.   
 
The Dons opened the game 1-for-10 from the field prior to the first media timeout, the lone made basket came via a 3-point field goal from Renfro in front of the Cougars' bench. BYU was just 2-for-5 during that stretch. In the first matchup against BYU, Childs had just six points in the first half, tonight he scored the first six for the Cougars.  
 
After their cold streak the Dons hit three consecutive 3-point field goals to retake the lead, up 16-13 with 11:32 in the first half. Triples by Ferrari, Bouyea, and Ratinho did the damage. After starting 1-for-10 from the field, the Dons shot 50 percent over the next 14 minutes going 7-for-14 from the field. 
 
Ferrari knotted the game up at 31 with a triple on the far wing, it was the eighth 3-point field goal of the game for the Dons.  He finished with 14 in the first half, but the Dons went into the locker room trialing 38-34 thanks in part to Childs 17 and Haws 11. USF shot 34.3 percent from the field (12-for-35), but were 9-for-20 from beyond the arc, 8-for-14 after starting 1-for-6.
 
Out of the break, the Dons foul troubles only continued, Lull, Ratinho and Renfro all picked up fouls early that forced USF to go to their bench early. With 13:41 to play in the game, Childs put back a miss and gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night, up nine.  They pushed that to 14 with 8:15 to play following a 3-point field goal from Haws.
 
USF began is comeback with a dunk by Lull at the 6:52 mark.  That began the Dons' 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four.  During that stretch the Dons upped their defensive intensity holding the Cougars scoreless for 4:37. Ferrari cut it to one, 65-64 with a triple in transition.  Ratinho gave the Dons their first lead hitting a pair of free throws 66-65.
 
With the score at 66-65, Ferrari took over. The biggest shot of the night was a pull up triple in transition that gave the Dons a little breathing room.  Ratinho's final bucket of the night gave USF a four point lead and from there it was all up to the charity stripe when USF closed the game making five free throws over the final 30 seconds.
 
UP NEXT
The Dons return to action on Saturday night when they take on Santa Clara at the Leavey Center.  The game is slated for an 8:00 p.m. tip and will be televised on NBC Sports California.