SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Continuing their winning streak in conference play, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (15-9, 4-5 WCC) took care of business in San Diego (10-13, 3-6 WCC) on Saturday night as the Dons downed the Toreros, 94-81, at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Getting the scoring going early, Tyrell Roberts knocked down his first attempt from beyond-the-arc on an assist from Khalil Shabazz to give USF an early 3-0 lead just 43 seconds into the contest.
- Matching each other in the minutes to follow, the Toreros pulled ahead to grab a double-digit advantage following a 7-0 run near the midway point of the first half as USD gained control, 29-18, at the under 12 media timeout.
- Flipping the script shortly thereafter, USF answered with a 10-2 run of their own to close their deficit to three points, 31-28, at the 6:20 mark.
- Continuing their offensive momentum, the Dons went on to outscore the Toreros, 18-6, in the final six minutes of the first half as the green and gold held a four-point lead, 46-42, heading into the locker room.
- Out of the break, USF netted seven of the first nine points to begin the second half to push the score to 53-45 in favor of the Dons at 18:05.
- Following a four-point play from Shabazz just 41 seconds later, the green and gold stretched their advantage to ten, 57-47.
- As the action continued, USF kept applying pressure on USD as a free throw from Marcus Williams gave the Dons a sixteen-point lead, 70-54, with 11:34 on the game clock.
- With 7:20 left in regulation, USF grabbed their largest lead of the night (18), 77-59, following a monstrous dunk from Williams.
- Fighting until the final whistle, the Toreros showed their grit in the closing moments of the contest but were unable to mount a comeback down the stretch as USF hung on for their third straight WCC victory, 94-81.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Dominating on both ends of the floor yet again, Shabazz was named Player of the Game after tying his season-high with 26 points on 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-7 from distance and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Additionally, the Seattle native added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes played. Notably, this performance marked his ninth 20+ point outing of the season.
- Sharing the wealth on offense, four other Dons finished in double figures alongside Shabazz: Roberts (15 points), Zane Meeks (15 points), Williams (13 points) and Ndewedo Newbury (13 points, career-high).
- As a team, USF shot a scorching 61.8 percent overall, including 47.6 percent from beyond-the-arc. Impressively, the Dons led the Toreros in points in the paint (44-22)., points off turnovers (14-10), second chance points (7-2) and bench points (30-7).
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
USF will return home to the Bay Area as the Dons will square off against two local rivals next week. On Thursday, Feb. 2, USF will cross the Bay Bridge for an 8:00 pm matchup at Saint Mary's in Moraga. Less than 48 hours later, the Dons will host Santa Clara on the Hilltop for a 7:00 pm battle on Saturday, Feb. 4. Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available via the
team's schedule page. Tickets for Saturday's contest can be purchased via the
team's schedule page or
usfdons.com/tickets.
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.
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at
www.usfdons.com/shop.
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact
Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.
