MORAGA, Calif. – Battling down to the wire on the road, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (15-10, 4-6 WCC) pushed No. 18/18 Saint Mary's (20-4, 9-0 WCC) to the brink on Thursday night, but the Dons ultimately fell to the Gaels in a tight battle, 68-59, at University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Getting the scoring started exactly one minute into the game, Isaiah Hawthorne netted USF's first basket of the evening on a second chance layup to give the Dons an early 2-0 lead.
- As the action moved along through the first half, USF was led early by Khalil Shabazz, who nailed his first from beyond-the-arc at 11:17 to help keep the green and gold on top, 11-8.
- Although the Gaels would jump in front in the minutes to follow, the Dons rallied back to regain control at the 7:49 mark on a triple from Marcus Williams, which put USF back on top, 16-15.
- Fighting a fairly even first half, Logan Johnson buried a three of his own with eight seconds left on the clock to give Saint Mary's a nine-point lead heading into the locker room, 36-27.
- Coming out of the break, SMC opened the second half of play by widening their lead to thirteen, which included knocking down three straight free throws to keep the Gaels in control, 44-31.
- Down by eleven with just over ten minutes remaining in regulation, the Dons responded by reeling off a 10-0 run to flip the momentum as USF went in front, 50-49, on a tough driving layup in the paint from Shabazz at 10:51.
- After the Gaels tied the contest at 53 with free throws from Johnson at 4:28, another hard-earned basket in the paint, this time from Ndewedo Newbury, gave USF a two-point advantage, 55-53.
- Unable to find the necessary stops needed down the stretch, Saint Mary's answered with an 8-0 run of their own as the Gaels held a 61-55 lead with 1:45 left in the contest.
- Never backing down, Shabazz converted on a pair from the charity stripe at 1:22 to keep USF within four, 61-57. Unfortunately, this is as close as the Dons would get in crunch time as SMC delivered at the free throw line to hang on for the 68-59 victory.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Leading the team with 39 minutes played, Shabazz finished with a team-high 16 points, which included a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Additionally, the Seattle native added five rebounds, two steals and one assist for USF.
- Tallying a new season-high with 15 points, Williams provided a spark off the bench on Saturday as the versatile guard knocked down 4-of-5 from distance while also tallying three rebounds and one steal in 27 minutes on the hardwood.
- Showing promise on the defensive end, USF held Saint Mary's to just 32.7 percent overall from the field (16-49) and 23.5 percent (4-17) on Saturday night.
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
USF will square off against another Bay Area rival this Saturday, Feb. 4 when the Dons welcome Santa Clara to the Hilltop for an 8:00 pm matchup. This meeting between USF and SCU will air live on ESPN U at game time. Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available via the
team's schedule page. Tickets for the contest are available 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 DonsRep 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.
