Bulldogs Top Dons at Chase Center

Thursday, February 29

San Francisco, Calif.

8:00 pm

University of San Francisco

22-8,11-4WCC

#23/22 Gonzaga

23-6,13-2WCC

Team	1	2	F
Gonzaga	35	51	86
San Francisco	34	34	68

Photo by: Christina Leung

2/29/2024 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Josh Bascos

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In the last regular season game in the City by the Bay, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (22-8, 11-4 WCC) competed to the final buzzer, but a dominant second half from Gonzaga (23-6, 13-2 WCC) pushed the Bulldogs past the Dons, 86-68 on Thursday night at Chase Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Opening the night, Marcus Williams drove for a layup on San Francisco's first possession of the game to give the Dons an early 2-0 lead just twenty-four seconds into the contest.
Prior to the 16-minute media timeout, a three-pointer by Malik Thomas and a lay-up by Marcus Williams put the green and gold on top, 7-2.
Gonzaga rallied to tie the contest at 18-apiece, but another Thomas three and a Mogbo dunk put San Francisco right back on top, 23-18 at 7:13.
Over the next three-plus minutes, USF and the Zags exchanged buckets, including a third make from distance from Thomas, with the score at 29-24 with 3:42 to play.
To end the half, however, the Zags put up an 11-5 run to capture their first lead of the game, heading into the break up 35-34.
Taking advantage of the contest, Gonzaga scored the first 13 points of the second half to go up 48-34, building on an advantage they would not give up.
San Francisco battled for the remainder of the game, including an 11-0 run in the final 1:19, but the Dons ultimately fell to the Bulldogs at Chase Center, 86-68.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Leading the team in scoring, Malik Thomas had a career night with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor with four made threes, all team-highs. Notably, it was also the second-highest scoring game of the USC transfer's career.
Backing up Thomas, Ryan Beasley and Jonathan Mogbo each finished with 14 points. Mogbo recorded his 14th double-double of the season, nabbing 11 rebounds to go along with his 14 points.
Capping off the double-digit scorers for USF, Marcus Williams tallied 11 points and six assists, marking the junior's fourth straight game with 10 or more points.
With Santa Clara falling to Portland tonight, San Francisco has clinched the No. 3 seed in the 2024 WCC Tournament, securing a double bye in the tournament.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full highlights of tonight's game, please click here.
To watch the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will close out its regular season on Saturday in the South Bay as the Dons will face Santa Clara in a 4:00 p.m. contest at the Leavey Center. Based on the results of this Saturday's games, USF will face either LMU, Pepperdine, or Portland in its first game of the conference tournament. Live streaming, radio and live statistics links are available above and 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 - Twenty-Five Ventures - 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.