MALIBU, Calif. - Picking up a crucial victory on the road, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (15-5, 5-2 WCC) bounced back with a big win on Thursday night as the Dons defeated Pepperdine (7-11, 1-4 WCC), 80-63, at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After Dovydas Butka got the scoring going for Pepperdine, back-to-back layups from Marcus Williams and Tyrone Riley IV gave San Francisco an early 4-3 lead just 1:10 into play.
• Less than three minutes later, Carlton Linguard Jr. rolled perfectly off a screen set for Williams before knocking down his first three-pointer of the evening to make it 8-4 in favor of the Dons.
• Pushing the throttle in the opening minutes, a triple from Junjie Wang and a fastbreak layup from Malik Thomas put the green and gold up ten, 16-6, at 15:24.
• Continuing to find separation near the midway mark, Wang dazzled with a step back jumper at 10:31 to extend the USF advantage to eleven, 28-17.
• As the half moved along, a pair of free throws from Thomas at 7:19 kept San Francisco in charge by double digits, 32-21.
• With 3:59 left in the first half, Zion Bethea knocked down a pair of free throws of his own to cut Pepperdine's deficit to eight, 37-25. Closing out the opening twenty minutes of play, the two teams matched each other to wrap up the first half as the Dons held a twelve-point lead, 48-35, at the halftime break.
• Coming out of the locker room, the Waves began the second half with a 6-0 spurt as Pepperdine came within seven points, 48-41, just 47 seconds into the period.
• Just past the 15-minute mark, two more free throws from Thomas and a layup from Ryan Beasley helped the green and gold take a double-digit advantage once more, 59-46. With 9:18 left in regulation, Thomas drove through the defense for a layup himself that kept San Francisco up by eleven, 65-54.
• As time wound down, Wang pressed the gas pedal for the Dons as another triple at 7:50 put the Dons up 16 points, 71-55.
• Experiencing little resistance down the stretch, Pepperdine would not come within more than 14 points for the remainder of the contest as San Francisco went on to secure an 80-63 road win on Thursday night.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Taking charge yet again, Thomas was tabbed Player of the Game after finishing with a game-high 20 points on 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-5 from beyond-the-arc and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Overall, the guard also added three assists, two rebounds and two steals against the Waves. Notably, this performance marked Thomas' tenth game with 20 or more points this season.
• Finishing in double figures alongside Thomas, Williams tallied 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting as he also recorded four assists, two rebounds and one block in the victory.
• Playing as a unit, ten different Dons scored on Thursday as San Francisco led Pepperdine in points in the paint (36-30), points off turnovers (17-4) and bench points (23-18).

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Malik Thomas, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will return home to the Hilltop this Saturday, Jan. 18 as the Dons are set to host Oregon State. Tipoff from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT as Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun will have the call live on ESPN+ while Pat Olson will have the call live on KNBR 1050. 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 - Twenty Five Ventures - 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.