Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- USF is having trouble putting two halves together and as a result remain winless after three West Coast Conference games after falling 70-66 to the University of San Diego Thursday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
The loss, USF's eighth in its last 10 games, leaves the Dons record at 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the WCC heading into Saturday's road game at Saint Mary's. San Diego improves to 9-8 overall and 2-0 in conference play with its first win over the Dons in seven tries.
Cody Doolin finished with a game-high 19 points while Tim Derksen added 16 to pace the Dons scoring efforts.
Johnny Dee scored 17 points, 13 in the first half, which helped the Toreros build a 46-32 lead at intermission. San Diego shot a blistering 60.7 percent from the floor and canned eight three-pointers to build a 14-point lead at the break.
USF nailed seven of its first 10 shots from the floor to start the second half and cut the Toreros lead to 53-52 with 12:14 remaining. Two three-pointers by
Chris Adams, who finished with nine points, and one each by
Cole Dickerson and Derksen fueled the Dons 20-7 run.
The Dons had four chances with under 4:00 minutes remaining to either tie or take the lead, but came up empty each time.
With San Diego leading 66-61, USF's defense forced the Toreros into a shot clock violation. Doolin's driving layup cut the lead to 66-63 with 1:24 left.
On the Toreros next possession, Chris Manresa misfired and Derksen pulled down a key rebound. However, the Dons quickly turned the ball over and were forced to foul.
Cameron Miles knocked down two free throws to give USD a 68-63 lead with 29 seconds remaining. Doolin kept the USF's hopes alive when he completed a three-point play after being fouled Ken Rancifer with 27.4 left, cutting the lead to 68-66.
USF's pressured San Diego into a quick turnover but Doolin's potential game-winning three-pointer failed to find its mark. Cameron Miles calmy knocked down both free throws after being fouled on the rebound to give San Diego a 70-66 lead with 22 ticks remaining.
USF has lost three conference games by a combined total of 13 points, but trailed by sizeable second half deficits in two of the games, only to come up short in the end.
"Our sense of urgency and understanding how hard it is to play conference basketball was not where it needed to be tonight," said USF head coach
Rex Walters after the game. "It's easy to get up for a road game at Santa Clara or a home game against BYU, but we didn't play against the game in the first half and it cost us.
"We are young and dumb. Experience is a tough lesson and we're getting tough lessons right now. We went through this a couple of years ago with a young team and they got sick of it. The question with this team is when are they going to get sick of it.
"When are you going to get sick of letting a team come into your gym and shoot 60 percent in the first half and outrebound you 21-8. The little things win you games and we aren't executing them right now."
USF will return to action Saturday night when it faces the Saint Mary's Gaels in Moraga. Please note the start time of the game has been moved back to 8:00 p.m. The game will also be televised live in the Bay Area on Comcast Sports Net California.
