SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Cruising to victory in the second half, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (18-6, 8-3 WCC) dominated as a unit on Saturday night as the Dons defeated Washington State (15-9, 5-6 WCC), 75-51, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After Washington State scored the first basket of the evening, Tyrone Riley IV laced a three-pointer on the right wing at 18:17 to give San Francisco its first points of the evening. Less than three minutes later, Ryan Beasley cashed in on his first triple of the night at 15:54 to keep the game knotted at 8-8.
• Over the next two plus minutes, the Cougars hit their stride offensively as Wazzu used an 8-0 run to jump out to a 16-8 lead following a dunk from LeJuan Watts at 12:24. Once Washington State extended their advantage to 18-10, San Francisco reeled off an 8-0 run of their own to draw even at 18-all with 10:10 remaining in the first half.
• Continuing to trade baskets as the period played on, a dunk from Marcus Williams off a Cougar turnover at 7:40 held the score at 24-all. Shortly thereafter, the Dons would put it together on both sides of the ball as the green and gold pieced together a 13-2 stretch over the next six plus minutes to take an eleven-point lead, 37-26, as halftime approached.
• Converting a three-point play with 1:04 left on the clock, San Francisco held off Washington State for the final 64 seconds of the opening period as the Dons went into the locker room with a 38-26 lead at the halftime break.
• Coming out of the locker room, San Francisco rolled right along as six straight points turned into a 20-0 spurt for USF dating back to the first half. Just over one minute into the second half, the green and gold increased their advantage to a 15-point game, 41-26.
• With 17:31 on the game clock, Wazzu trimmed their deficit back to eleven, 44-33, but the Dons responded with six straight points yet again to widen the margin to seventeen, 50-33, at 16:27.
• Pushing the gas pedal, Junjie Wang joined the party with a three-pointer on the left wing at 12:59 to give San Francisco a 23-point advantage, 58-35. Just past the midway mark of the second half, a second-chance dunk from Jason Rivera-Torres kept the green and gold up twenty, 61-41.
• Down the stretch, the Dons experienced little resistance from WSU as a layup from Robby Beasley with 1:50 left in regulation gave San Francisco its largest lead of the night at 24 points, 73-49.
• Finishing the night with dominance, San Francisco went on to cruise to victory over Washington State by securing a 75-51 win on Saturday.

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Enjoying a career night offensively, Wang was named Player of the Game after finishing with a career-high 16 points on 6-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-8 from beyond-the-arc to go along with five rebounds in 29 total minutes.
• Alongside Wang, Williams (17 points) and Beasley (14 points) also finished in double figures against Washington State. For Beasley, the output marked his season-high in points.
• Finishing one rebound shy of a double-double, Rivera-Torres impressed with 9 points and a team-high 9 rebounds while also tallying one steal in 16 minutes off the bench.
• As a team, San Francisco led Washington State in points off turnovers (20-7), second chance points (16-6), fast break points (14-8) and bench points (16-8).

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Ryan Beasley and Jason Rivera-Torres, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will close out their three-game homestand next Thursday against the top team in the conference as the Dons will welcome Saint Mary's to the Hilltop on Thursday, Feb. 6. Tipoff from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center is set for 7:00 pm as Dave Flemming and Dan Dickau will have the call on ESPN2 while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call 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 - San Francisco Toyota - 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.