Highlights and Post-Game Comments

SAN FRANCISCO – USF will head into its 11-day break for final exams with the satisfaction of knowing it already passed one big test Monday night in War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
Just three days removed from a 32-point road loss at Montana, the Dons were able to regroup and find the resolve to grind their way to a 65-61 victory over the CSUN Matadors in a tough, physical game on the Hilltop. The win ended USF's two-game losing streak and improved the Dons record to 5-4 overall while the Matadors drop to 2-7 on the season.
 
Tim Derksen led all USF scorers with 17 points while Devin Watson added 14 and Uche Ofoegbu came off the bench to finish with 11 points and nine rebounds in a 29-minute playing stint. Derksen enjoyed one of his better shooting nights of the season, as the senior canned 5-of-8 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 from long distance, to reach double-figures for the ninth consecutive game.
 
The Dons also received solid contributions from Dont'e Reynolds, who finished with seven points and five rebounds, Matt McCarthy, who pulled down six boards and Montray Clemons, who knocked down a pair of crucial free throws that gave USF a 65-61 lead with :11 left.
 
Tavrion Dawson scored a game-high 19 points for CSUN.
 
Neither team shot the particularly well, as the Dons finished at 42 percent for the game compared to the Matadors at 40.7 percent. Both teams made seven three-pointers and the Matadors held a 38-30 advantage on the boards.
 
"I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to get it done tonight," said head coach Rex Walters. "It was a tough game at Montana and we had a long travel day on Saturday just to get home. We went hard yesterday in practice and I was really proud of the effort we showed tonight."
 
USF trailed 8-2 in the early going before leading at intermission, 29-26. Ofoegbu had nine of his 12 points before the break to help the Dons to a three-point cushion.
 
The Dons trailed only briefly in the second half after Micheal Warren scored the first four points after the break to give CSUN a 30-29 lead less than a minute into the second period. Derksen and Mladen Djordjevic quickly answered with back-to-back three-pointers that gave the Dons a 35-30 lead.
 
USF's largest lead of the second half came at the 10:23 mark when Watson buried a three to boost the Dons lead to 45-37. However, Tavrion Johnson scored the next six points to bring CSUN to within one point at 45-44 with 7:54 remaining.
 
The Dons were able to boost their lead back to seven when Reynolds completed a three-point play to give USF a 59-52 lead with 2:22 left in the game. CSUN cut the lead back to two at 63-61 when Dawson completed a three-point play after being fouled by Reynolds with :15 remaining.
 
The Matadors fouled Clemons on the inbounds pass and the senior calmly knocked down both free throws to give USF a 65-61 lead with :11 remaining.
 
Landon Drew's uncontested three-pointer missed its mark with :03 left and the Dons had their fifth win of the season.
 
"CSUN presents some problems with their athleticism and the fact our guys found a way to get a win tonight says something about their character."
 
While the Dons have struggled to find consistent production to complement Watson and Derksen so far this season, Walters was pleased with the contributions from the bench, which accounted for 25 points on the evening.
 
"I thought Uche (Ofoegbu) was phenomenal tonight," said Walters. "His defended and knocked down some key shots and really kept us going in the first half. Tray (Clemons) might not have had his best game but he still found the confidence to hit those two big free throws at the end of the game. Mladen (Djordjevic) also stepped up by hitting two big three's for us."
 
The Dons will have now have an 11-day break for final exams and iron out some things on both ends of the floor before their next game against Coppin State on Dec. 18.
 
"We have a lot of work to do before Coppin State," said Walters. "We need to work on some things offensively and understand what we are doing in our secondary breaks and half court sets. We need to protect the paint a little better, too."