SAN FRANCISCO – With 12:44 left in regulation senior guard Jordan Ratinho pulled up from beyond the arc in front of the Dons bench, the resulting 3-point field goal gave Ratinho sole possession of the USF career record for 3-point field goals with 237 and gave the University of San Francisco a four point cushion against visiting Loyola Marymount, a lead they would not relinquish.  In the end, the Dons gutted out an eight point, 61-53 win over the Lions on Saturday afternoon to extend their winning streak to three games.
 
USF (14-6/3-2 WCC) had just two players finish in double figures with Charles Minlend leading all scorers with 19 points – but he was hardly the only Don to have an impact on the game. All nine players who suited up for USF scored at least one point.  Junior Taavi Jurkatamm finished with just one point but had his best performance of the season, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and blocked three shots – two on LMU's Eli Scott on the same possession with less than two minutes in the game that effectively sealed the win for the Dons.
 
Jamaree Bouyea also finished in double figures for USF, he had 10 to go along with two assists and three steals.  Jimbo Lull had eight points and three rebounds while Josh Kunen had three points and five rebounds along with four assists. 
 
LMU (7-12/1-4 WCC) was led by Scott who had 17 points and 10 rebounds.  No other player finish in double figures for the Lions.  Loyola Marymount shot 38.9 percent from the field going 21-for-54, from 3-point range they were 5-for-23, in the second half the Lions shot just 1-for-11 from beyond the arc.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Dons opened the contest 3-for-4 from long range and led 11-7 early but a 15-3 run by the Lions had USF trailing 22-14 with less than six minutes to play in the opening period.  Six players scored for the Lions in the early going –Scott and Ivan Alipiev led the way with seven each.
 
• USF closed out the first half on an 8-2 run – an old fashioned three point play by Remu Raitanen and a dunk by Lull as the game clock expired, gave the Dons momentum going in to the locker room.  USF shot 41.7 percent from the field in the first half going 10-for-24.  The early physicality of the Lions clearly bothered the Dons early.
 
• Out of the break Kunen hit a three at the top of the key to give the Dons their first lead since early in the first half. From there, USF continued to play stifling defense and managed to build on their lead.
 
• USF got a big emotional boost with 12:44 to play in the contest when Ratinho hit the record breaking triple in front of the Dons bench on a fast break.  From there, the Dons pushed their lead to as high as 10 with less than 10 seconds to play.
 
• The Dons shot 55.0 percent in the second half going 11-for-20 from the field.  USF was 7-for-8 from inside the arc. 
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
1-6: With the win, the Dons improve to 1-6 on the year when trailing at the half.  USF trailed the Lions 28-26 – USF entered the game at 0-6 this season when trailing at half.  USF's last win when trialing at the half came at BYU on Feb. 21, 2019 when the Dons rallied back from 14 down in Provo.
14: With the win, Todd Golden improves to 14-6 as the Dons head coach – the 14-6 record is tied for third best by a first year head coach with Phil Matthews.  The two trail Pete Barry (16-4) and Dan Belluomini (15-5).  Kyle Smith went 13-7 through his first 20 games as head coach.
609: Ratinho's 237^th field goal came on the 609^th attempt – which is 35 fewer attempts than Ali Thomas who held the record for over 20 years.  
 
NEXT UP
The Dons return to action on Thursday night, they travel across the bay to take on the Gaels at University Credit Union Pavilion. The game is slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.