SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Leading for a majority of the contest on Thursday night, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (11-7, 0-3 WCC) battled No.9/10 Gonzaga (13-3, 2-0 WCC) to the wire at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, but the Bulldogs ultimately squeaked out a 77-75 victory over the Dons on a late basket from Rasir Bolton.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Knocking down four of their first five shots to open the game, including three from behind-the-arc, USF grabbed an early 11-3 lead at 17:09 in the first half following a triple from Tyrell Roberts.
• As the action approached the midway point of the first half, Gonzaga trimmed their deficit to just one, 18-17, but the Dons responded with a 15-7 run to widen the gap once more, 33-24, after a three from Khalil Shabazz at 7:43.
• Keeping their foot on the gas pedal, Shabazz went on to nail four shots from distance in the first half, which including back-to-back treys at 2:32 and 2:07 to put the green and gold up 12, 44-32.
• Following a bucket in the paint from Isaiah Hawthorne to close the first twenty minutes, USF held a ten point advantage, 46-36 heading into the locker room.
• Coming out of the break, Gonzaga gained rhythm offensively as the Bulldogs turned the tides by reeling off a 13-6 run to open the second half and cut the score to a two-point game, 51-49, at 16:09. 
• Fighting tooth and nail for the remainder of the evening, GU kept within six points down the stretch, but USF continued to have an answer for the Bulldogs as the Dons held a five-point lead, 73-68, following a pair of free throws from Roberts with 2:52 left in regulation.
• Pulling off late game heroics on the road, Bolton put back the game-winning basket off a Drew Timme miss with just under eight seconds left to give Gonzaga a two-point advantage, 77-75.
• Despite Bolton missing the free throw after getting fouled on the play, USF had one final chance to tie or win the game at the buzzer, but ultimately could not get a shot off before time expired as the Bulldogs hung on for the narrow 77-75 win.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Leading the Dons offensively, Roberts finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 from the floor (4-4 FT) to go along with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 36 minutes played.
• Alongside Roberts in the backcourt, Shabazz is now five made threes away from becoming USF's all-time leader after tallying 17 points (4-8 3PT), nine rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes on the hardwood. 
• As a team, the Dons shot better across the board as USF topped Gonzaga in field goal percentage (45.8-45.5), three-point percentage (43.5-38.5) and free throw percentage (84.6-70.0) while also leading GU in second chance points (22-4) and bench points (11-7). 

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Khalil Shabazz, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
USF will head south to Los Angeles for a Saturday night matchup at Loyola Marymount on Jan. 7. Tipoff from Gersten Pavilion is set for 7:00 pm as the game will air live on the WCC Network and KNBR 1050 at game time. Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
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.