SAN FRANCISCO – Free throws were the difference tonight as visiting Saint Mary's went 12-for-14 from the line and the USF went 8-for-14 as the Gaels earn a 67-63 win Saturday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
A sluggish first half had the Dons (10-8, 4-4 WCC) playing catchup all evening but the comeback bid was extinguished in the final seconds when the Gaels' (11-5, 2-3 WCC) Tommy Kuhse and Quinn Clinton went a combined 4-for-4 at the line in the final eight seconds.
 
"I'm proud of the way our guys competed in the second half," said head coach Todd Golden. "We tightened that thing up. Josh (Kunen) hits some really big shots early in the second half to get us going. We competed and defended really well over the course of the second half.  They did not make a three in the second half and we held them to 37 percent from the field.  A little bit of that was regression, in the first half they were hot making everything.  In the second half we ran the same type of defense and same scheme, but were just a little tougher and a little grittier getting to the ball. It just wasn't enough and I thought we did a real poor job at the foul line."
 
The Dons finished with three players in double figures led by Jamaree Bouyea's game-high 21 points.  The senior from Seaside, Calif., played in all 40 minutes, going 9-for-22 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range.  At the 10:53 mark in the first half he scored his ninth point of the contest giving him 1,000 for his career.  Bouyea becomes the 39^th player in USF history to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau.
 
"That was a great moment for a great player," said Golden on Bouyea scoring his 1,000^th point. "He's a guy that really embodies what being a 'Don' is all about. He's matured and grown a lot over the past four years.  He's gotten better every year and that's something that I'm proud as a coach to say about one of our guys. He played the full 40 today, I feel like we need him on the floor at all times and I think that's the biggest compliment a coach can give a player."
 
Also, in double figures for the Dons was Khalil Shabazz and Josh Kunen.  Kunen was the spark that got the Dons furious comeback going in the second half when he went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc right out of the break.
 
Saint Mary's had three players in double figures and was led by Logan Johnson's 20.  Kuhse had 18 and Dan Fotu had 11.  SMC led for over 38 minutes thanks to a torrid first half that saw the Gaels shoot 66.7 percent from the field (16-for-24) and 5-for-8 from 3-point range. The trio of Matthias Tass, Kyle Bowen, and Fotu went a combined 4-for-6 from long range in the opening period. 
 
The Dons shot reasonably well in the opening half, going 12-for-27 from the floor and 3-for-9 from distance but could not keep up with the Gaels hot shooting, who took a 42-29 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
"I think they beat the game plan a little bit," said Golden on the Gaels first half.  "From the stand point of their front court players are not prolific shooters, Tass, Fotu, and Bowen hit four threes in the first half, which allowed them to score 42 points.  I think if we get a couple better breaks it's a little tighter at the half."
 
Out of the break the Dons much improved defense and the Gaels regression to the mean allowed USF to go on a big run.  The Dons raced out to a 14-2 run to begin the second half, aided by the hot shooting of Kunen.  The third of his three point field goals during that stretch banked off the glass and cut the deficit to one, 44-43 with 16:09 to play.
 
Unfortunately for the Dons, they just couldn't get that crucial stop they needed and the Gaels rattled off an 8-0 run to take a nine point lead into the later part of the half.  The Dons continued to battle aided by Bouyea, Kunen and the defense by Taavi Jurkatamm.  Jurkatamm had another tremendous night, matching his career-high in rebounds with 11 and missed his first career double-double by one point.  
 
USF cut Gaels' lead to a single possession three times late, the last coming on a layup by Bouyea with two seconds left but the Gaels put the game on ice at the free throw line.  
 
For the evening, the Dons shot 40.4 percent from the field going 23-for-57.  They were 9-for-21 from long range.  Tonight, is just the sixth time this season USF has failed to make at least 10 3-point field goals.  The Dons fall to 1-5 in those contests.
 
USF will return to action next Saturday when they travel to the Marriott Center to take on BYU in Provo, Utah.  That game is slated to tip off at 3:00 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.  Pat Olson will have the call on the official home of USF Dons Basketball, KNBR 1050-AM.