University of San Francisco Athletics

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Game #26
USF Dons (15-10, 8-5 WCC) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (11-15, 4-9 WCC)
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014 • 8:00 p.m. PT
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series Record: Santa Clara leads, 111-102
Last Meeting: USF 75-66 (Jan. 25, 2014 in San Francisco)
Audio Stream: USFDons.com (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
Television: ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein, Play-by-Play; Corey Williams, Analyst)

• Now 15-10 overall and 8-5 in the West Coast Conference after splitting a pair of road games last week...defeated San Diego 74-67 before falling 68-63 to BYU in Provo.
• Enter the week in fourth place in the WCC standings - a half a game behind third place Saint Mary's and one game ahead of fifth place Pepperdine.
• The 15 wins matches the team's win total from last season (15-16)...have surpassed its conference win total from a year ago (7-9)...15 wins are the fourth highest total among conference teams.
• Will play three of its last five games on the road to wrap up the regular season beginning with Saturday night's game at Santa Clara...road games remain at Pepperdine (2/27) and LMU (3/1).
• Are 4-5 on the road this season, including 3-3 vs. WCC foes...are 7-3 in last nine conference road games dating back to last season.
• Trail the all-time series with Santa Clara, 111-102...Dons won the first meeting of the year, 75-66 on Jan. 25 in San Francisco.
• USF is 18-12 over the past four seasons in the month of February...went 5-2 in February last season.
• USF is 92-92 in six seasons under head coach Rex Walters...Dons are 69-55 (.560) under Walters since the start of the 2010-11 season.
• Averaging 76.5 points a game to rank as the WCC's fourth-highest scoring team...have scored 80+ points just twice in conference action.
• Rank second in the WCC and 21st nationally in field goal percentage at 48.1 percent...have shot 50 percent or better from the floor in 12 games this season.
• Have made just 30-of-97 (30.9) three-pointers over the last five games and are now shooting 37.0 percent from beyond the arc for the season - sixth best in the WCC.
• Were 16-for-32 (50.0) from the line in two games last week...rank 10th in the WCC in free throw percentage at 65.1.
• Held BYU to 68 points on its home floor, nearly 20 points below their season average...rank seventh in the WCC in defense (74.0), field goal defense (45.1) and eighth in three-point defense (37.5).
• Are 13-4 on the season when outrebounding the opponent...rank sixth in WCC rebounding at 35.0.
• Balanced scoring column sees the top six scorers averaging between 14.5 and 8.2 points per game...seven different players have taken team high-scoring honors this season.
• Sophomore Avry Holmes is shooting 50.9 percent (28-for-55) from three-point range over his last 14 games...career mark of 45.0 (82-for-182) ranks first on USF's all-time career list.
• Cole Dickerson ranks 24th on USF's all-time career scoring list with 1,120 points...also ranks 16th all-time in career rebounds with 670.
• Junior Kruize Pinkins is averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds a game - tops in the WCC.
• Return home next week to face Saint Mary's (2/20) and Pacific (2/22).

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to 1908-09, Santa Clara leads the all-time series with USF, 111-102. Santa Clara represents USF's oldest rival in terms of games played (213). USF has won six out of the last nine and seven out of the last 11 in the series following a seven-game Santa Clara winning streak. The Broncos swept last year's season series, claiming a 74-69 victory at the Leavey Center on Jan. 2 and posting a 85-54 win on the Hilltop on Jan. 17. The 31-point loss was USF's worst home loss in Memorial Gymnasium. The two schools have met seven times in WCC Championship play, with Santa Clara holding a 5-2 advantage.

FIRST MEETING WITH SANTA CLARA: USF used 28 points from Cole Dickerson and a 41-24 advantage on the boards to defeat Santa Clara, 75-66 on Jan. 25 in Memorial Gymnasium. Dickerson made 12-of-17 shots from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds to pace all USF scorers. Kruize Pinkins added 14 and Mark Tollefsen finished with 12. Matt Glover pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with seven points. Jared Brownridge finished with a game-high 30 points for Santa Clara.

LAST TIME OUT: USF dropped a 68-63 decision to BYU Saturday night in Provo. The Dons rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to build a five-point, 52-47 lead with 10:13 left, only to see the Cougars use a 14-3 run to take a 61-55 advantage at the 4:27 mark. BYU extended its lead to seven at 67-60 before winning by the final score of 68-63. BYU outrebounded USF, 47-29 and took advantage of 20 offensive rebounds that led to 16 second chance points. Tim Derksen led USF in scoring with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Tyler Haws and Kyle Collinsworth paced the Cougars with 19 points each.

THE RECORD: At 15-10 overall, USF is four games ahead of last year's pace when the Dons were 11-14 at the 25-game mark of the season. USF dropped its 26th game last season to fall to 11-15 and 5-9 in conference play. USF's 15 wins matches the team's win total from a year ago while it has surpassed last season's conference win total (7-9). The 15 wins are tied for the third-best single season total under Rex Walters behind his 2011-12 (20-14) and 2010-11 (19-15) teams. USF's 15 wins are fourth most in the conference behind Gonzaga (21-3) and Saint Mary's (17-7) and BYU (16-9).

USF BASKETBALL UNDER WALTERS: USF is 92-92 in six seasons under head coach Rex Walters. After going 23-37 over his first two seasons, Walters has guided the Dons to a 69-55 (.556) record over the last four seasons.

FABULOUS IN FEBRUARY: In the last four seasons dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, USF has posted a 18-12 record in the month of February, including a 5-2 mark last season.

THE SCHEDULE: After playing five consecutive games, the Dons will wrap up the regular season by playing five out of its last seven games on the road. Following Saturday's game at Santa Clara, the Dons will return to Memorial Gymnasium to close out their home schedule against Saint Mary' (2/20) and Pacific (2/22) before wrapping up the regular season at Pepperdine (2/27) and LMU (3/1).

ROAD REPORT: USF is 4-5 in nine road games this season, including a 3-3 mark against WCC foes. The Dons are 7-3 in their last 10 WCC road games dating back to last season. USF is 11-5 at home this season after going 8-7 on its home floor last season, including 2-6 against WCC foes.

OFFENSIVELY: The Dons are averaging 76.5 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the WCC. The Dons opened the season by scoring 90+ points in its first four games - a first in school history, but have scored 80 or more points just three in its last 18 games - twice against Portland (87 and 84) and vs. Pacific (81).

BALANCED SCORING: USF has four players on its current roster averaging in double figures after 25 games, with senior Cole Dickerson topping the team's scoring chart with a 14.5 point per game average. The top six scorers on the current roster are averaging between 14.5 and 8.2 ppg. Seven different players have taken game-high scoring honors at some point this season.

FROM THE FLOOR: The Dons have shot 50 percent from the floor in 12 games this season and currently rank second in the WCC and 22nd nationally in field goal percentage at 48.1 percent. If the season ended today, the Dons current shooting percentage would be the 10th-best single-season mark in school history. USF is shooting 45.9 percent from the field in conference games, despite an icey 25.5 percent (14-for-55) effort at Gonzaga. Mark Tollefsen (56.3) and Cole Dickerson (53.1) rank sixth and 11th respectively in WCC field goal percentage.

FROM BEYOND THE ARC: USF was just 11-of-38 (28.9) from long distance in two games last week vs. San Diego and BYU. The Dons have connected on just 30-of-97 (30.9) of their long distance tries over the last five games, dropping the season percentage down to its present mark of .370, which ranks sixth in the WCC. Avry Holmes ranks seventh in the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 43.2. USF led the West Coast Conference and ranked fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage a year ago, connecting on 40.1 percent (249-for-621) of its long distance attempts. The Dons have set single-season school records for three-pointers made each of the last three seasons.

ON THE LINE: USF made just 16-of-32 free throws against San Diego (10-21) and BYU (6-11) last week. The Dons are shooting just 65.1 percent from the line this season, which ranks last in the WCC.  Avry Holmes ranks sixth in the WCC with a 86.2 free throw percentage.

BOARD WORK: After outrebounding six of its previous seven opponents, USF lost the battle of the boards against BYU, 47-29. Twenty of BYU's 47 rebounds came off the offensive glass, leading to 16 second chance points. The Dons rank fifth among WCC teams in rebound average at 35.0 while opponents are averaging 32.4 boards a game, the third-lowest average in the conference. USF is 13-4 this season when outrebounding the opponent and 2-6 in all other games. Four players - Cole Dickerson (7.0), Kruize Pinkins (6.6), Matt Glover (5.8) and Mark Tollefsen (4.0) - are averaging at least 4.0 rebounds per game.

SECOND CHANCES: USF is averaging 11.6 offensive rebounds a game, fourth-best in the WCC. Kruize Pinkins ranks first in the conference in offensive rebounds with a 3.3 per game mark

:DEFENSIVELY The Dons held BYU to 68 points on its home floor, which was nearly 20 points below the Cougars season average of 87.4 entering the game. USF is yielding 74.0 points a game, which ranks seventh in the WCC. The Dons rank seventh in the conference in field goal defense (45.1) and eighth in three-point defense (37.5) and blocks per game (2.6). USF's 5.9 steals per game average rank fifth in the conference.

DONS IN OVERTIME: USF is 2-1 in overtime games this season, losing to Idaho State 93-90 while defeating Portland 87-81 and Pacific 81-72. USF is 11-4 in overtime games under head coach Rex Walters.

AVRY ON A ROLL: Sophomore Avry Holmes has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 14 games and is averaging 14.5 point per game (204 total) during that stretch, raising his season scoring average from 8.9 to its present mark of 12.1. He has also shot 46.9 percent (62-for-132) from the field, including 50.9 percent (28-for-55) from three-point range while knocking down 52-of-58 (89.6) free throws during the stretch.

AVRY FROM DOWNTOWN: Avry Holmes' current three-point percentage of 43.1 (41-for-95) ranks seventh in the West Coast Conference. His career three-point percentage of of 45.0 (82-for-182) ranks first all-time in school history, slightly ahead of Shawn Sykes' (1988-90) career mark of 44.4 (98-for-218).

DICKERSON CLIMBING REBOUNDING CHARTS: With 670 career rebounds, senior Cole Dickerson currently ranks 16th on USF's all-time rebounding list. He needs 16 more boards to tie Marlon Redmond for 15th. Here's a look at where Dickerson stands on USF's all-time career rebonding chart...

11. Joe Ellis (1963-66) 737
12. Erwin Mueller (1963-66) 717
13. Johnny Burks (1968-71) 701
14. Mike Farmer (1955-58) 698
15. Marlon Redmond (1973-77) 686
16. Cole Dickerson (2010-14) 670

DICKERSON ON USF's ALL-TIME SCORING LIST: With 1,120 career points, Cole Dickerson is tied with Joe Ellis (1963-66) for 23rd on USF's all-time scoring list. He needs 10 more points to tie John Hegwood (1979-82) for 22nd and 50 more to tie Joel DeBortoli (1987-90) for 21st.

DICKERSON'S DOUBLES: Senior forward Cole Dickerson posted his fifth double-double of the season and 19th of his career against BYU, finishing with 26 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Dickerson finished with conference-high 13 double-doubles (points-rebounds) last season, a figure that ranked 24th nationally among Division I players. He was also a point or rebound away from a double-double in five other games. Dickerson pulled down 10 or more rebounds in 14 games, including a career-high 20 boards against Montana on Nov. 30.