SPOKANE, Wash. – The University of San Francisco battled in the first half but a late run by top ranked Gonzaga carried over to a lopsided second half.  The Bulldogs ran away with it, 85-62, Saturday night at the McCarthy Athletic Center.
 
"I thought we competed hard, I thought we did some good things we just didn't take care of the ball well enough and we let them get too many transition points," said head coach Todd Golden. "If you allow that to happen against this team you will make things difficult on yourself. I was proud of the way we competed we played till the end.  We did a decent job, decent."
 
USF (7-5, 1-1 WCC) had two players finish in double figures and were led by senior guard Jamaree Bouyea who had 18.  Dzmitry Ryuny finished with 11. The Dons finished the night 21-for-54 from the field (38.9 percent) and were just 8-for-23 from distance. The difference tonight was Gonzaga's steady offense.
 
"I thought he went toe to toe with (Jalen) Suggs, who is going to be a top pick in the draft in a couple of months, and he out played him," said Golden on Bouyea's performance. "I'm not surprised, JB's a really great player and he was terrific tonight."
 
The Bulldogs (10-0, 1-0 WCC) shot 52.6 percent from the field without needing a good night from beyond the arc. Gonzaga was 5-for-15 from distance, but just 1-for-8 in the second half.  The Bulldogs finished with four in double figures led by Corey Kispert's game-high 26.  Joel Ayayi and Drew Timme both finished with double-doubles.  Ayayi with 18 points, 10 rebounds. Timme 10 points, 11 rebounds. Transfer Andrew Nembhard had 18 off the bench.  
 
USF looked comfortable early.  The traditionally raucous McCarthy Athletic center was without its loud fanbase which allowed the Dons to get into a rhythm even after a few early runs by Bulldogs (10-0, 1-0 WCC).
 
A layup by Josh Kunen tied the game at 11 and a three point field goal by Bouyea briefly gave USF a 14-13 lead.  The two sides battled through the remainder of the first half. With 1:14 remaining Bouyea cut it to three with a deep three.  Gonzaga closed out the half on a 7-0 run capped off by a 40 foot 3-point field goal by Kispert to take a 10 point lead into the locker room.
 
"That run at the end of the half was definitely an issue, I thought we did a nice job to answer some of their runs," said Golden. "I thought we did a good job in the second half getting shots that just didn't go down and had a few mental lapses on defense and they took advantage and if you do that up here they will make you pay."
 
Out of the break, USF missed its first two attempts from the field. The Bulldogs responded going on a 7-0 run to take a 17 point lead.  After a timeout called by the Dons Ryuny hit a three. But the Dons were never able to mount an effective run.
 
USF shot attempted just 23 3-point field goals on the night, second fewest attempts this season, making eight.  The Dons fall to 1-4 when making less than 10 shots from beyond the arc.
 
"That was a product of the way they were defending us.  These teams have really started to string out penetration and force us to get to the rim instead of letting us get jump shots. We've got to find a way to get a little stronger towards the rim and draw a few more fouls."  
 
USF had 16 turnovers on the night, Gonzaga converted those into 22 and had 23 fast break points.  On the glass, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Dons 40-25.  USF's bench finished with 24 points.  Julian Rishwain, Samba Kane, Damari Milstead, and Anthony Roy all had five points for the dons.
 
USF will return to action next Thursday.  Their opponent is to be determined, please check USFDons.com for schedule updates.