Balanced Attack Powers Dons Past Pilots

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Remaining hot to start conference play, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (14-4, 3-0 WCC) returned home to the Hilltop in a big way on Saturday night as the Dons defeated Portland (7-11, 1-2 WCC ), 96-69, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

With defense taking charge to open play, San Francisco got on the board first on a three-pointer from Malik Thomas at 18:03 to take an early 3-0 lead.
Knocking down their shots in the minutes to follow, the Dons stretched their lead to eight, 11-3, in the beginning minutes of the contest following another triple, this time courtesy of Marcus Williams at 15:53.
Over the next two plus minutes, Portland responded by reeling off an 8-0 run to even things up at eleven at the 13:25 mark.
Trading baskets as the midway point of the first half passed, USF jumped back in front on a made three from Ndewedo Newbury at 11:57 before another three from the forward at 9:25 made it a four-point game in favor of the green and gold, 21-17.
Keeping the momentum rolling, a jumper from Malik Thomas at 7:10 kept it a seven-point game, 28-21.
With just under five minutes left in the half, back-to-back baskets from Mike Sharavjamts and Jonathan Mogbo pushed it to a nine-point game, 37-28, with San Francisco in control. Answering back once again, the Pilots trimmed their deficit to four, 37-33, at 3:07 after a made free throw from Tyler Robertson.
Wrapping up the first twenty minutes of half, one final jumper from Sharavjamts with 45 seconds left on the clock gave the Dons an eight-point advantage, 44-36, heading into the locker room.
Coming out of the break, Newbury cashed in on his third triple of the night at 17:17 to give USF a ten-point lead, 50-40.
Trading blows, the two teams matched each other offensively shortly thereafter as it wasn't until around the 13-minute mark when the Dons would break out again.
Using a 12-3 run that began with Newbury's fourth made three, San Francisco blew the game open and extended their advantage to 23 (77-54) on a fastbreak dunk from Mogbo at 10:05.
Taking control on their home floor, a layup from Sharavjamts at 7:33 made it a 29-point game, 86-57, as the green and gold continued to have their way. Keeping their distance the same, Newbury sank his sixth and final three-pointer at 6:44 before another jumper at 5:39 gave USF a 91-62 lead.
Securing their fifth win by 20+ points in their last six games, San Francisco cruised to the finish line as the Dons went on to take down Portland by a final score of 96-69.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Enjoying a career night offensively, Newbury was named Player of the Game after finishing with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists in 28 total minutes. Overall, the junior shot 8-of-12 from the field and an impressive 6-of-10 from beyond-the-arc as he finished with career-highs in points and three-pointers made while also tying his career-high in blocks.
Flourishing since entering the starting lineup, Thomas poured in a career and game-high 26 points in 28 minutes to go along with 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Notably, he shot 10-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Playing their part, Mogbo (18 points), Williams (12 points) and Sharavjamts (10 points) also all finished in double figures. For Mogbo, the dynamic forward logged his ninth double-double against the Pilots as he also pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to 4 assists and 1 steal. Notably, it was also his fourth straight double-double for the Dons.
As a unit, San Francisco led Portland in points in the paint (44-20), points off turnovers (13-12), second chance points (16-12) and fast break points (18-6).
With the win, USF also begins WCC play with a 3-0 record for the first time since the 2006-07 season. Additionally, the six straight victories by the Dons also marks San Francisco's longest winning streak since the green and gold won six in a row to begin the 2022-23 campaign.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full postgame highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen and Ndewedo Newbury, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will remain home next week as the Dons will welcome two more WCC opponents to the Hilltop. On Thursday, Jan. 18, USF will square off against LMU at 8:00 pm followed by a 7:00 pm battle against Saint Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 20. 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 - Coca-Cola - 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.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Mogbo

Ndewedo Newbury

Mike Sharavjamts

Malik Thomas

Marcus Williams

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