Box Score
Watch Game Highlights Here
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- USF was certainly up the challenge posed by facing fifth-ranked Gonzaga Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium but at the end, the Dons came up short in their bid to upset the Zags for a fourth straight year on The Hilltop, dropping a 71-61 decision before a sellout crowd of 4,300.
USF trailed by just one point at 53-52 with 7:10 remaining before the Zags went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game enroute to a 10-point victory.
With the win, Gonzaga improves to 25-2 overall and 12-0 in the West Coast Conference while USF falls to 11-15 and 4-9 in WCC play.
Cole Dickerson and
Cody Doolin paced USF scorers with 15 and 14 points respectively, while Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk led all scorers with 26 points. Elias Harris contributed 17 for the Bulldogs.
USF had no answer for Olynyk or anyone else down low, as Gonzaga scored 38 points in the paint and outrebounded USF, 45-29.
After making 5-of-12 three-pointers in the first half, Gonzaga limited the WCC's top three-point shooting team to just two treys in the second frame.
Gonzaga had intentions of putting this game away early, as the Zags raced to a 21-7 lead with 11:43 left in the first half.
However, the Dons methodically chipped away and trailed by only seven points at intermission, 34-27.
USF quickly got the lead down to five points when Dickerson scored on the Dons first possession of the second half.
Dickerson's three-pointer tied the game at 45 with 10:36 remaining and Gonzaga's lead was was just one at 53-52 with 7:10 left after Mark Tollefseon completed a three-point play.
Just when the sellout crowd on Phil Smith Appreciation Day thought they might witness a fourth straight upset of Gonzaga on the Memorial Gymnasium floor, the Zags kicked it into gear and ran off 10 straight points to put the game away.
Olynyk keyed the run with six points while Harris and Drew Barham added the other four in the decisive run.
"They are a really good team and are physically stronger than us but our guys played really hard," said USF head coach
Rex Walters after the game. "Size does matter and physically they are a Final Four-caliber team.
"They've got an absolute pro in Olynyk and another guy who could very well be a pro in Harris - and they have great guard play and an unbelievable work ethic.
"When it mattered the most, they kicked our butts.
"If we make shots, we're good. But that's not good enough. We want to be a team that can really defend and rebound. They had 31 missed shots and had 13 offensive rebounds. That's a pretty good percentage.
"Our guys played really hard. There's winning effort and good effort. I think we all like winning effort a lot more."
USF will be back in action on Thursday night when it faces the Loyola Marymount Lions in Gersten Pavilion beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Dons will return to Memorial Gymnasium next Saturday to play host to the Pepperdine Waves at 6:00 p.m.
