Second Half Surge Lifts Dons Over Mustangs

Tuesday, November 5

San Francisco, Calif.

7:00 PM

University of San Francisco

1-0,0-0WCC

Cal Poly

0-1,0-0Big West

Team	1	2	F
Cal Poly	35	43	78
San Francisco	39	47	86

Photo by: Christina Leung

11/5/2024 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Josh Bascos

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Ringing in the 2024-25 campaign, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (1-0) picked up an 86-78 season-opening victory over Cal Poly (0-1) on Tuesday night as the Dons used a second half surge to take down the Mustangs at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Malik Thomas opened the contest quickly with a steal and three-pointer to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead one minute into the ballgame.
Three straight Cal Poly three-pointers gave the Mustangs a 17-11 lead at the 14:51 mark, but USF responded with a 20-4 run of their own, which included baskets coming from seven different Dons, to take a double-digit advantage, 31-21, at 9:12.
Closing out the first half, Cal Poly narrowed the San Francisco lead to two, 37-35, including five points each from Jarred Hyder and Owen Koonce, but a tip-in for Carlton Linguard Jr. gave the green and gold a 39-35 advantage heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break, San Francisco quickly strung together six straight points, including two layups from Malik Thomas, to take a ten point lead, 45-35, at 18:44.
Cal Poly made a statement following the 16-minute media timeout with a 20-5 run as the Mustangs hit four threes in that stretch to take a 62-56 lead at 8:51.
Fighting back for San Francisco, Tyrone Riley IV converted six consecutive shots to account for 16 points of a 21-4 USF run to put the Dons back in the lead, 77-66, with 3:54 remaining.
Back-to-back buckets by Hyder put the Mustangs within six points, 79-73, at 2:26, but clutch free throws from Riley IV and Ndewedo Newbury helped seal the season-opening victory for San Francisco, 86-78.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

With a stellar debut on the Hilltop, Riley IV was named Player of the Game after finishing with a game-high 26 points. Notably, the freshman scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 shooting from distance. He also added two rebounds and one steal in 27 total minutes.
Right behind Riley was Thomas, who finished with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor and 10-of-12 from the foul line to go along with a career-high five steals.
Marcus Williams rounded out the double-figure scorers for San Francisco as he poured in 14 points, shooting 4-of-8 from the field with two three-pointers.
Also making his debut in the green and gold, Vanderbilt transfer Jason Rivera-Torres recorded a team-high +25 as he recorded six points while tying his career-high with eight rebounds. Additionally, the wingman added three assists and one block in 17 total minutes.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full highlights of tonight's game, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
To view the full postgame interview with Tyrone Riley IV and Malik Thomas, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco continues a season-opening four-game homestand on Saturday night as the Dons will welcome Boise State to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for a 7:30 pm contest. The game will air live on ESPN+ with Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun on the call as well as on KNBR 1050 with Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli on the call. 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 US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of San Francisco 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.