SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -Â The University of San Francisco (USF) men's basketball team (13-8, 5-3 WCC) dug deep down the stretch on Sunday afternoon as the Dons ended the game on a 9-0 run to secure an 85-80 victory over Washington State (8-12, 3-4 WCC)Â at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
The Dons had four players score in double figures, led by Junjie Wang, who had 15 points. Guillermo Diaz Graham tacked on 14 points off the bench, and Ryan Beasley chipped in as well with 13 points, six assists, and three steals.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- After jumping out to a 33-32 advantage, San Francisco went on an 8-0 run with 4:25 left in the first half to increase its lead to 41-32. The Dons then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime in the driver's seat, up 48-44. San Francisco relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down eight shots from beyond-the-arc to account for 24 of its 48 first half points.
- Washington State proceeded to answer coming out of the locker room, taking a 75-68 lead before San Francisco went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Diaz Graham's three, to shrink the deficit to 75-74 with 4:18 to go in the contest. USF kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Diaz Graham's three-pointer with 02:10 left, which proved to be the go-ahead basket. San Francisco held on in the closing minutes, securing an 85-80 victory in its only regular season matchup against Washington State this season.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Wang finished in double figures for the third straight game and the sixth time this season. He finished a perfect 4-of-4 from distance, marking his second-most three-pointers in a game this year (shot 7-of-9 from deep against Pepperdine on Jan. 10).
- Beasley tallied 10 or more points for the eighth straight game and team-leading 14th time this season. Fuchs logged double figures for the third straight game and 13th time this year, while Diaz Graham tallied double figures for the fourth time this season.
- Riley IV's six rebounds marked a game-high and his ninth game with five or more rebounds so far this year.
- The Dons made over half of their attempts from three-point range, knocking down 12 of 22 shots (54.5 percent). This performance marked USF's highest three-point percentage as a team this season.
- The San Francisco bench made an impact by adding 30 points to its scoring output, led by Diaz Graham (14 points) and Vukasin Masic (9 points).
- San Francisco won the battle on the boards once again, outrebounding the Cougars 30-23. USFÂ cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game. Notably, the Dons are now 12-2 this season and 62-7 under Chris Gerlufsen when they win the rebound battle.
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
San Francisco will hit the road for its next contest as the Dons are scheduled to make their final regular season conference trip to Spokane for a battle at Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tipoff from McCarthey Athletic Center is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT, with the game airing live on CBS Sports Network and KNBR 1050. Streaming, radio, and live statistics links are available via the team's schedule page.
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FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the University of San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram, and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
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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.
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SPONSOR US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - ABM - for their continued support of University 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.
*This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive*
