SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Battling to the wire in another close game, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (19-6, 6-4) dropped a back-and-forth affair, 69-68, to Portland (12-12, 3-6) on Tuesday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Unable to find much momentum offensively throughout the night, USF could not get into rhythm to begin the ballgame as the Pilots jumped out to a 14-3 lead through the first eight minutes of action.
• Flipping the script in the minutes to follow, the Dons stormed back on the strength of a 16-4 run to take the lead, 19-18, on a floater from Jamaree Bouyea at the 4:06 mark in the first half.
• Trading blows as the half came to a close, USF netted the final six points before the break to take charge over Portland, 29-24, heading into the locker room.
• Extending their advantage to open the second half, USF pushed the score to 37-30 in favor of the Dons following a Julian Rishwain three at 15:19, but the Pilots answered back to pull ahead, 41-40, on a three-pointer of their own at 11:27.
• Exchanging baskets as the game continued, San Francisco briefly regained their lead, 43-41, on another triple from Rishwain at 11:14, but Portland once again rallied to grab the advantage through the next ten minutes of play as the Dons did not go back in front, 58-54, until a three-pointer from Bouyea, with 3:16 remaining in regulation.
• Coming down to the final minute, Portland delivered during crunch time as Kristian Sjolund scored eight of the Pilots final eleven points, including sinking two contested three-pointers. Falling just short in the closing seconds of the contest, Bouyea and Gabe Stefanini would each miss from beyond-the-arc with just under 30 seconds left on the game clock as Portland converted their final four attempts at the free throw line to seal the 69-68 victory. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Impacting the game on both ends, Yauhen Massalski logged his sixth consecutive double-double and tenth overall this season as he finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds (season-high), 3 blocks, 1 steal and 1 assist in 31 minutes played.
• Notably, Stefanini tallied double figures for the fourth time in the last seven games with a team-high 18 points in 26 minutes of action while Bouyea recorded his seventeenth 15+ point performance with 17 points in 38 minutes played.
• As a team, USF led Portland in points in the paints (16-10), second chance points (14-7) and bench points (14-2).

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 host Pepperdine this Thursday, Feb. 10 at 8:00 pm at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center as the Dons attempt to sweep the Waves for the first time since 2017-18. This contest will air live on NBC Sports Bay Area at game time and on KNBR 1050 as Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call live from the Hilltop. 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.