Box Score
(San Francisco) – San Francisco started strong and finished stronger, rolling to a 69-50 victory against Northern Arizona on day two of the 2011 Hilltop Challenge Saturday at War Memorial Gym. The Dons (1-1) outscored the Lumberjacks (0-2) 41-24 in the second half to even the all-time series to 2-2.
Junior guard Michael Williams led a balanced offense for San Francisco, scoring a game-high 16 points on 7-of-11 from the field in 28 minutes. Sophomore forward Cole Dickerson turned in perhaps his best game in the Green and Gold, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 from the floor with six rebounds and a blocked shot in 19 minutes.
After rallying late in the period to take a 28-26 advantage into halftime, the Dons wasted little time in upping the defensive pressure. USF limited NAU to a chilly .241 (7-29) from the field in the second half. The Lumberjacks shot .358 (19-53) overall, 313 (5-16) from long distance. San Francisco shot at a .467 (21-45) rate and connected on .333 (6-18) from long distance.
San Francisco held a 26-10 advantage scoring in the paint and attacked the rim, drawing 28 fouls. The Dons did not capitalize fully, connecting on just .583 (21-36) from the free throw line.
USF returns to action when it closes out the 2011 Hilltop Challenge against Louisiana. Tip-off against the Ragin' Cajuns is set for 3:30 PM in a game carried live on USFDons.com, featuring live video courtesy of Stretch Internet. North Dakota State squares off against Northern Arizona in the early game, starting at 1:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.
In the second game of day two, North Dakota State (2-0) rolled past Louisiana (1-1) 78-58. Mike Felt scored a game-high 18 for the Bison.
