Post-Game Comments and Highlights Here

SAN FRANCISCO – Poor second half shooting, untimely turnovers and a lack of rebounding prowess led to USF's 69-57 home loss to the Portland Pilots Thursday night in Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The loss, the Dons fourth straight, drops USF's season record to 9-15 overall and 3-9 in the West Coast Conference while Portland improves to 13-10 and 4-7 in league play. It was just the Pilots second win over the Dons in the last 11 meetings between the two schools, with both victories coming on the Memorial Gymnasium hardwood.
 
Tin Derksen scored a team-high 17 points for USF while Mark Tollefsen was the only other Don to score in double figures with 10 points. Kevin Bailey and Alec Wintering each had 20 points to pace the Pilots.
 
USF's leading scorer Kruize Pinkins was held to just eight points and three rebounds.
 
USF, which came into the game shooting close to 50 percent from the floor over its last four games, cooled to 36.4 percent tonight, including 22.7 percent (8-for-25) in the second half.
 
The Pilots outrebounded the Dons, 39-28, with Thomas van der Mars grabbing a game-high 13 boards for Eric Reveno's club.
 
Portland shot 44.4 percent from the floor, but took advantage of 9-of-18 three-point shooting.
 
Portland jumped on the Dons early, racing out to a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Portland enjoyed as much as a 13 point first half lead at 20-7 at the 11:31 mark before the Dons came alive.
 
USF outscored Portland, 29-13 over the final 11:31 of the first half to take a 36-33 lead into intermission. Derksen keyed the run, scoring 14 of his 17 points during the stretch.
 
The Dons came out flat in the second half as the Pilots outscored USF 11-2 to build a 44-38 lead at the 13:20 mark.
 
The Dons were still in striking distance with just over six minutes left in the game. Tollefsen's made free throw completed a three-point play and cut the Pilot lead to 54-50 with 6:12 left.
 
However, Portland put the game away with an 8-0 run that opened a 62-50 lead with 3:57 left. USF could get no closer than eight points down the stretch.
 
The Dons will return to action Saturday night against the second-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
 
Rex Walters' Post-Game Comments
 
"Portland was committed for the full 40 minutes. We shot ourselves in the foot with eight turnovers in the second half. They weren't pressuring, we just didn't do a good job in taking care of the ball."
 
"In the first five minutes, they were getting way too many catch and shoot threes. They shot 50 percent from three-point range for the game."
 
"Our offensive inefficiency killed us. It's a tough lesson. In some ways it was similar to our games at BYU and San Diego when we were in it with five minutes to go, only to turn the ball over too many times in critical situations. The game goes from a five point game to a 10 point game in three possessions."