Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO - USF had hoped for a better start to its five game homestand than a 83-76 loss to BYU in a nationally-televised game on Thursday night.
The Cougars (12-7, 4-2) shot 47.2 percent from the floor, cashed in on 28 of 37 free throws and took advantage of 16 Dons' turnovers to win their fourth straight conference game after an 0-2 league start.
USF has dropped its last two games after a three-game winning streak to fall to 11-8 overall and 4-3 in the West Coast Conference.
Cole Dickerson scored a game-high 26 points and pulled down 14 rebounds in defeat, while
Avry Holmes (16),
Kruize Pinkins (14) and
Mark Tollefsen also reached double digits for the Dons.
Four of BYU's five starters reached double-figures, led by Kyle Collinsworth's 19 points, while Matt Carlino came off the bench to add 17. The Cougars also benefitted by Skylar Halford's 18 points, 11 of which came from the charity stripe.
The Dons held a 40-26 advantage on the boards.
The two teams exchanged leads 10 times in the first half before USF went into the locker room nursing a 37-34 lead.
However, the Cougars ability to effectively drive the ball on the Dons in the second half led to either baskets or trips to the line, where BYU converted on 26-of-31 free throws after intermission.
Sixteen USF turnovers led to 19 BYU points.
With BYU nursing a one point lead at 51-50 with 12:28 left, Holmes fouled Halford on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to ignite a 12-4 run that upped the Cougar lead to 63-54 with 9:44 left.
It was an uphill battle for USF from that point on, as the Dons could draw no closer than five points down the stretch before losing by the final count of 83-76.
USF will return to action on Saturday when it plays host to the San Diego Toreros in Memorial Gym beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
"We had some chances but the ball didn't bounce our way offensively. It's hard to win home game when you allow the other team to shoot 47 percent on your home floor."
"Things got tough and guys tried to take it upon themselves - that's not who we are. We're not a home run team - never have been."
"We did a pretty good job in rebounding but they got some timely ones that hurt us. We feel the strength of our team is with our bigs and we did a good job in attacking some of their double teams."
"Turnovers are attributed to two things - carelessness and selfishness. Some our our guys tried to make the big play instead of an easy play. The amazing thing about it is they (BYU) aren't a pressure team. They pack man-to-man and play two-zone. We were going to get any shot we wanted if we moved the basketball."
