SAN FRANCISCO, Calif, - Continuing WCC play with a Bay Area rivalry, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (16-5, 3-3) fell to Saint Mary's (16-4, 4-1) in a close contest on Thursday evening, 72-70, as the Gaels used a second half surge to push past the Dons at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Catching fire to begin the night, USF raced out to a thirteen-point lead, 15-2, following back-to-back triples from Khalil Shabazz (14:37) and Gabe Stefanini (13:53).
• Riding the early momentum, the Dons poured it on as the first half played on as USF stretched their advantage to 38-15 following a layup from Jamaree Bouyea at 3:42, which gave San Francisco their largest lead of the game with a 23-point cushion.
• Showing off his lethal range, Bouyea then impressed with a deep three from the top of the arc as the buzzer sounded for halftime to keep USF on top by seventeen, 41-24, at the break.
• In what proved to be a tale of two halves, Yauhen Massalski would notch the first points of the second half for USF on a layup in the paint just 22 seconds in, but the Gaels ultimately stormed back in the minutes to follow to trim their deficit and draw even with the Dons.
• Trading blows down the stretch, Saint Mary's did not take their first lead of the contest, 61-60, until a jumper from Alex Ducas with 2:26 remaining in regulation. Shortly thereafter, Zane Meeks put USF back in front, 63-61, with a three of his own, but the Gaels once again answered the call to regain control following a successful and-one from Matthias Tass with 1:03 on the clock.
• Coming within one point in the final minute of play, the Dons would have a chance to tie the game with just under twenty seconds remaining, but Meeks could not convert from distance this time around. Buckling down at the free throw line, Saint Mary's sank all four opportunities from the charity stripe in the final twenty seconds to close out USF and secure the 72-70 comeback victory.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Dominating down low once more, Massalski logged his sixth double-double of the season on Thursday with 18 points and 13 rebounds while also tying his career-high with seven blocks in 32 minutes played.
• Reaching double figures for the eighteenth time this season, Bouyea finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind-the-arc. Notably, the Seaside product also added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block while playing 40 minutes for the third time in the last four games.
• Rounding out the scoring, Stefanini tallied 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-4 3PT) in 36 minutes of action while Shabazz contributed 10 points (3-8 FG, 3-4 FT) in 34 minutes on the hardwood. 

POSTGAME:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Todd Golden, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
USF will remain home on the Hilltop as the Dons will welcome another Bay Area opponent to town when they host Santa Clara this Saturday, Jan. 29 at 4:00 pm. Similar to Thursday, this contest will also air live on Stadium as Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini will have the call while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will air on KNBR 1050. Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.