LAS VEGAS – Jamaree Bouyea raised his hands into the air, blank look on his face.
After a scary fall just seven minutes earlier, the University of San Francisco men's basketball point guard took a block from Taavi Jurkatamm all the way to the rim for a two-handed dunk with nine minutes left in a second-round WCC Tournament game against Loyola Marymount. This was the game he and the Dons expected to play.
No. 5-seeded Dons turned in not only its first true complete game effort against a conference opponent this season in the 82-53 win, but got contributions from up and down the bench. Led by Charles Minlend's superlative performance and Bouyea's emotional return, USF exorcised its early tournament exit from a year ago.
"We did what we came here to do," Minlend said. "As a unit, together, we just dominated. It was fun to see."
Last season, the Dons had faltered down the stretch of the regular season but still earned a first-round bye. Similarly seeded fifth, San Francisco — at one time a pick to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in more than two decades — was shocked by No. 8-seeded Pepperdine.
On Friday, Minlend led the Dons (21-11) with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, one of four players in double figures. USF has now had at least four players score in the double digits in each of its last three games. Joining him were Jimbo Lull (his 12 points and 10 rebounds were good for his seventh career double-double, and sixth this season), Jordan Ratinho (12 points) and Khalil Shabazz (10 points). They did it while playing under control, turning the ball over just seven times and doling out 14 assists on 30 field goals.
"I thought we played one of our most complete games of the season," said head coach Todd Golden. "We were super unselfish, did a great job defensively and on the glass, and we took care of the ball. It was about as perfect as you could have."
This time around, the Dons took the lead for good less than two and a half minutes into Friday's game.
Just six days after the Dons scored a tight, two-point win on the road in Los Angeles against the Lions, they played arguably their most dominant half of the season in the opening stanza. San Francisco led by as many as 15, forcing eight turnovers (and scoring 13 points off of them), outscoring the Lions 24-12 in the paint and moving the ball — with nine assists — while forcing LMU into tough shots.
"It was tough one, playing at their place, but we were able to get that one done without playing our best game," Minlend said. "We had a lot of confidence. We knew they made a lot of tough ones on their home floor, but we wanted to stay with the same scout, but with more intensity. We had more confidence going into the game, and we showed it."
Despite not having practiced on the conference's brand new floor, the Dons started the game 16-of-29 from the field and led 39-26 at halftime.
Minlend, who, after a non-conference loss to Harvard, admonished himself for not making good shot decisions and not playing under control, played arguably his best game of the year.
On Friday, Minlend was a terror, using his shot fake from the perimeter to draw defenders off his drives, scoring in traffic in the post, hitting with his off hand and splitting double teams.
"He was awesome," Golden said. "Complete game, top to bottom, did a great job defensively. Four assists and one turnover, I think played his best game of the season."
With 16 minutes to go, Bouyea — who hadn't had to do much other than facilitate for Minlend and Ratinho — went up for a transition layup against Eli Scott, landed hard on his right ankle and had to be helped off the court. On the bench, he covered his face with a towel and shouted.
While Bouyea — the engine that makes the Dons go — would come back three minutes later, the Lions lost one of their best.
With 14:45 to go, Jordan Bell — who scored 25 last time against the Dons — exited after fouling Remu Raitanen (his fourth personal) and picking up a tech. A pair of free throws, then a Khalil Shabazz rhythm three, extended the San Francisco lead to a game-high 20.
After the Lions crept to within 15 behind Scott, Dzmitry Ryuny buried a three from the right wing, his second of the night. A block from Jurkatamm led to a full-court dash from Bouyea for his first points since going down, with just over 10 minutes to go. Thirty seconds later, Bouyea converted a Ryuny steal into a layup to grow the lead back to 20.
With mostly reserves in, and two and a half minutes on the clock, Trevante Anderson hit a corner three across from his own bench, giving the Dons a 25-point lead. The Orleans Arena echoed with chants of "U-S-F! U-S-F!" When the final buzzer sounded, the Dons — including freshman Jonas Visser, who scored his first four points since the opener — returned the favor, applauding the fans from center court.
With the win, the Dons move on to a 7 p.m. Saturday match-up with No. 4 Pacific, like San Francisco one of six WCC teams with over 20 wins this season.
The Dons split their two games with the Tigers during the regular season, losing 60-48 in an uneven game on Feb. 6 (one of three straight losses), but edging them in Jan. 11 in Stockton in a 79-75 decision.
The Dons and Tigers tip off at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming on the play-by-play and Sean Farnham the analyst. The radio broadcast will be carried on KSFO 560-AM due to a conflict with the San Jose Earthquakes game, you can still tune in to hear Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli call all the action courtside.
