Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO - On a night that USF's second all-time rebounder had his number retired, the Dons held a decisive advantage on the boards over Santa Clara en route to a 75-66 victory over their longtime rival.
With Ollie Johnson watching from courtside, USF used a 41-24 advantage on the boards and a team-high 28 points from
Cole Dickerson to turn back the Broncos in Memorial Gymnasium.
Kruize Pinkins added 14 points while
Mark Tollefsen chipped in with 12 to pace USF to its second straight victory as the Dons improve to 13-8 overall and 6-3 in the West Coast Conference.
Matt Glover pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds from the two-guard position to go along with seven points.
Dickerson made 12-of-17 shots from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds, much to the delight of Johnson, who was watching from courtside.
Freshman Jared Brownridge was the only Bronco player to score in double figures with a game-high 30 points.
USF shot 49 percent from the field and held Santa Clara to 39 percent shooting from the floor. USF also knocked down 23-of-28 free throws.
Dickerson scored 10 of his team-high 28 points in the first half as the Dons opened a 34-22 lead at intermission.
USF's lead was 12 at 47-35 with 13:48 left in the game when Brownridge and Broncos started chipping away.
A 15-7 Santa Clara run cut the Dons lead down to 54-50 with 9:07 left.Â
The Dons then went on a 12-6 spurt, capped off by a Dickerson three that game USF a 66-54 lead with 3:30 left but nothing comes easy in this rivalry that dates back to 1912.
Santa Clara cut the lead down to four on a Yannick Antanga tip-in that made the score 66-62 with :54 left.
Tim Derksen calmly made a pair of free throws after being fouled on the inbounds play to give USF a 68-62 lead with :52 left.
On Santa Clara's next possession, Derksen stripped Brandon Clark and found a streaking Dickerson whose slam dunk game the Dons a 70-62 lead with 39 seconds left.
After Antanga then hit a jumper to cut the lead back down to six,
Avry Holmes found Pinkins who answered with a dunk of his own and after being fouled by Antanga, converted the three-point play to give the Dons a 73-64 lead with :22 left.
USF will take a 13-8 overall record and a 6-3 conference mark into next Wednesday's home game against the Portland Pilots, a team that owns wins over both Gonzaga and BYU this season. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
"It's an emotional game. I know a bit about the history of the series and our our alumni love this game. I thought we did some nice things tonight but still have room for improvement."
"Jared Brownridge had an outstanding game but I thought Glover did a nice job late in the game in making his looks a little more difficult."
"I loved how our guys stepped up at the end of the game and made plays. I think of Avry getting double teammed in the corner but still find Kruize for a dunk on the other end. Plays like that are special."
"It was a concerted effort to get the ball to Cole tonight. He can do so many things with it. We got him some good looks on the post tonight and he played a heck of a game."
"
Kruize Pinkins, Matt Glove,
Cole Dickerson and
Mark Tollefsen are pretty darn good rebounders. What's the saying? No rebounds, no rings? We did a great job on the glass tonight and were pretty efficient offensively."
