Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO --
Rex Walters admitted after the game USF made one adjustment that helped the Dons to a 76-66 win over Pepperdine Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium.
After a sluggish first half that saw the Dons shoot just 25 percent from the floor and fall behind 27-19 at intermission, the Dons ditched their customary warm-up layups and opted to run five minutes of motion offense drills before the start of the second half. The move paid dividends, as the Dons scored 57 second half points to hand the Waves their first conference loss of the season.
Four Dons scored in double-figures, led by
Kruize Pinkins, who finished with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Mark Tollefsen added 16,
Tim Derksen 15 and
Avry Holmes 10 to help the Dons improve to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the West Coast Conference.
Pepperdine, which falls to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in the WCC, was led by Brendan Lane's 13 points while Jeremy Major added 12.Â
USF shot 51 percent in the second half and finished at 40.3 percent from the floor for the game, while the Waves shot 42.9 percent.
After being outrebounded by 10 boards in the first half, the Dons controlled the glass after the break and finished the game with a 38-37 advantage in the rebounding column. USF finished the game with 17 offensive boards, including seven by Pinkins.
USF, which came into the game shooting just 62.1 percent from the free throw line on the season, made 16-of-19 of its charity tries this afternoon, includng all four in the final minute of the game to hold off the Waves.
Both teams got off to slow starts. The Dons had scored just nine points in the first 13 minutes of the game but trailed by just seven points.
Pepperdine led by 12 at 27-15 with 1:14 left before the break but four quick points by Derksen gave USF some momentum heading into intermission.
As the Dons took the floor for the second half, fans watched as the team went through five minutes of offensive drills that are usually reserved for closed-door practice sessions.
USF used an 11-3 run to start the second to quickly cut the Wave lead down to two at 30-28.Â
Pepperdine withstood the run and led by six at 38-32, but a Tollefsen dunk and two put backs by Pinkins drew the Dons even at 38 with 15:12 left.
USF went on a 8-2 run, capped off by a Holmes' three-pointer, that gave USF a six-point cushion at 46-40 with 12:44 left.
A Tollefsen three-pointer increased USF's lead to 52-45 with 10:37 left and the Dons would build a 10-point advantage at 63-53 with 7:44 left before winning by the final count of 76-66.
USF will return to action on Thursday night when the Dons meet the Pacific Tigers in Stockton beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Dons will wrap up the week with a late afternoon game next Saturday at Saint Mary's.
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
"It was really a tale of two halves for us. We reverted back to some bad habits that showed up at Gonzaga and weren't attacking in the first half. We really stepped it up in the second half but I thought Tim (Derksen) gave us some momentum with those four quick  points at the end of the first half. Mark (Tollefsen) was fantastic tonight. Mark, Kruize and Cole were really good on the glass and Avry was calming factor all game."
"I'm not much for two-line lay-up drills to warm up before the second half. We wanted to give our guys a feel of the offense with multiple touches. It wasn't a punishment and it might have embarrassed them a bit but that's OK. It worked."
"It was the best 0-for-8 performance (
Matt Glover) that I've ever seen. Eight rebounds, six assists and he was a huge defensive presence for us."
"Our defense was pretty darn good for the whole game. We made them work for everything. We still have some things to work on."
"Tollefesen's pursuit of the basketball, put backs and making some big threes made him hard to guard."
"You miss a few free throws down the stretch and that's a kind of game you can lose. It was good to see our guys step up and get it done."
