SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Returning home to the comfort of the Hilltop, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (7-3) fought off a late rally from New Orleans (4-6) on Monday night as the Dons turned it on to close the contest and defeat the Privateers, 85-72, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Catching fire out of the gates, Stefan Todorovic nailed back-to-back three-pointers to begin the evening as the Dons scored the first eleven points of the ballgame to take an 11-0 lead through the first 2:57.
• Defensively, USF held New Orleans off the scoreboard until the 15:35 mark in the first half. Just a few minutes later, baskets from Isaiah Hawthorne and Josh Kunen helped the green and gold maintain their double-digit lead, 19-5, at 12:13.
• As the midway point of the first half approached, New Orleans trimmed their deficit to eight, 20-12, on a driving layup from Jamond Vincent at the 10:45 mark. Shortly thereafter, the Dons answered with a 7-0 run to regain their double-digit advantage, 27-12, at 9:36.
• Throughout the rest of the first half, the two teams matched each other fairly similarly as the Privateers never came closer than 16 points. With 1:44 remaining in the half, a free throw from Mike Sharavjamts stretched the USF lead to 21 (44-23).
• After a pair of baskets from New Orleans closed out the first twenty minutes of play, San Francisco was in control at the break, 44-27.
• Staying steady out of the locker room, the green and gold pushed the pace to open the second half as two straight jumpers from Marcus Williams helped the Dons balloon their lead back up to 18 (50-32) at the 16:01 mark.
• Fast forward a few minutes, USF remained on top by 17 (60-43) following a three-pointer from Williams at 12:07, but the Privateers kept answering as they slowly chipped away with each possession. Using a 9-0 run of their own, New Orleans cut their deficit to just eight again, 60-52, at 9:47.
• Continuing to whittle away as time passed, the Privateers got within three points of the Dons, 68-65, with 5:05 remaining in regulation, but this was as close as they would get.
• Going on to outscore New Orleans 17-9 in the final five plus minutes of action, USF turned it on late to defend their home floor and ultimately push their lead back to double digits.
• Thanks to two free throws from Ndewedo Newbury with just over 25 seconds left on the game clock, San Francisco held on to take down the Privateers, 85-72, to remain a perfect 4-0 on the Hilltop this season.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Finishing just two points shy of his career-high, Williams poured in a season-high 28 points to go along with 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 33 minutes played. With his three-pointer at the 12:07 mark in the second half, Williams surpassed 1,000 career points in his collegiate career as he now sits at 1,012 points following tonight's contest.
• Flirting with a triple-double yet again, Mogbo is proving to be a swiss army knife for the Dons night in and night out as the versatile forward finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in 29 minutes played. Additionally, he also added 3 steals and 1 block in the process.
• Alongside Williams and Mogbo, Stefan Todorovic (13 points) and Ndewedo Newbury (12 points) also finished in double figures for the green and gold.
• As a team, San Francisco led New Orleans in points in the paint (48-34), points off turnovers (24-9),  second chance points (13-11), fast break points (9-5) and bench points (17-9). 

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 Marcus Williams, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will wrap up its short two-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 13 as the Dons will play host to Seattle U at 7:00 pm on the Hilltop. Live streaming, radio, live statistics and ticket links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our 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.