SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Bouncing back on their home floor on Saturday evening, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (17-5, 4-3) hung on to take down Santa Clara (13-8, 3-3), 88-85, in thrilling fashion at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
With the victory over the Broncos,
Todd Golden officially secured his 50
th career win as a head coach.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- With USF starting slightly slow on offense, Santa Clara jumped out to an early 20-8 lead through the first seven minutes of play, but the Dons caught momentum as the half transpired as the Dons would draw even with the Broncos, 24-24, following a free throw from Julian Rishwain at the 7:35 mark. During this stretch, San Francisco would outscore SCU 16-4 to erase their deficit.
- Trading baskets as the first half continued, USF took their first lead of the contest on a three-pointer from Rishwain at 7:21, but the Broncos battled back to regain their advantage as halftime neared. Ultimately, Jamaree Bouyea pulled out another highlight-reel step back three to beat the halftime buzzer for the second game in a row as his deep triple gave the Dons a one-point lead, 43-42, heading into the locker room.
- Moving into the second half, USF remained locked in a back-and-forth affair with the Broncos, which included consecutive baskets from Yauhen Massalski and Bouyea out of the break.
- Matching each other stride-for-stride, neither team would be able to grow their lead more than five points as the half played on as San Francisco and Santa Clara exchanged blows for the majority of the final twenty minutes. With 3:48 left in regulation, Khalil Shabazz put the Dons on top for good by knocking down a corner three to give USF a one-point advantage, 78-77.
- Converting on all six of their free throws down the stretch, the duo of Shabazz and Bouyea would keep the Dons in control in the final minutes of action. Locking down on defense, USF came up with back-to-back stops as the clock expired as the Broncos were unable to cash in on their final two three-point attempts in the closing seconds. Hanging on by three points, the Dons secured their fourth consecutive victory over Santa Clara, 88-85, as Coach Golden improved to 4-0 against SCU while also picking up his 50th career win.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Putting together another dominant game down low, Massalski was named Player of the Game after logging his third consecutive double-double and seventh overall this year with 17 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in just 26 minutes played.
- Impressively, Bouyea finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 from the floor, 2-of-4 from beyond-the-arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line while playing all 40 minutes for the fifth time this season. Overall, the Seaside native added two assists and two steals against the Broncos.
- As a team, USF led SCU in points in the paint (46-42), fast break points (16-4) and bench points (18-13).
POSTGAME:
UP NEXT:
USF will hit the road next week as the Dons will travel to Provo, Utah for a matchup with BYU on Thursday, Feb. 3 before making their way to Portland for a showdown with the Pilots on Saturday, Feb. 5. Live streaming, live statistics and radio links will be 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.
