CHENEY, Wash. – The Dons answered an early season question with its 77-59 victory over Sacramento State in the first day of the Eastern Classic in Cheney, Wash.
 
The Dons first three wins of the season were largely due to the scoring prowess of senior Ronnie Boyce, who came into tonight's game against the Hornets with the nation's third-highest scoring average at 28.0 points per game.
 
Posed with the question of what happens when Boyce is held in check, the Dons answered loud and clear with a balanced scoring sheet that carried USF to an 18-point victory over the Hornets.
  Four Dons scored in double figures, led by career highs from Chase Foster and Marquill Smith, who scored 18 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore Nate Renfro and freshman Jordan Ratinho were also hit double numbers with 10 points each. A total of nine players got into the scoring column on a night Boyce was held to just six points.
 
For the second consecutive game, the Dons shot better than 50 percent from the floor, finishing at 54.7 while limiting the Hornets to 37.9 percent from the field. USF also nailed 11-of-22 shots from long distance. Foster was particularly impressive, canning 4-of-7 shots from distance. Smith, Renfro and Ratinho also hit a pair of threes.
 
Despite playing without the services of 7-0 center Jimbo Lull, who missed the game with illness, the Dons managed to outrebound the Hornets, 39-30.
 
Nick Hornsby (20) and Justin Strings (18) were the only two Hornets in double figures.
 
With the win, the Dons are off to their first 4-0 start since the 1986-87 season while Sacramento State falls to 1-4.
 
USF got off to a quick start by scoring the first 11 points in the game. Sacramento State missed its first nine shots took 6:10 before scoring it first points of the night. The Dons opened up as much as a 17 point first half lead at 33-16 but the Hornets outscored USF 24-6 over the final 4:56 of the first period to cut the lead to 39-30 at the break.
 
Sacramento State outscored USF 12-3 to start the second half and cut the Dons lead down to six at 42-36 with 17:39 left. The Dons quickly shifted the momentum back in their favor with a 9-0 run keyed by three-pointers from freshman Remu Raitanen and Jordan Ratinho.
 
The Hornets would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way as the Dons would enjoy as much as a 23-point lead, the last at the 2:43 mark, 75-52.
 
"We had a lot of players who picked up the scoring slack tonight and defensively, we started out great," said USF head coach Kyle Smith. "Everybody played within themselves tonight and that's what good teams will do."
 
Foster made 6-of-12 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 from distance, and scored 13 of his career high 18 points before halftime.
 
"Chase usually draws the opponent's top perimeter player but he really shot the ball well tonight. He's very capable of having games like this and I think he's only going to get better and better."
 
USF will return to action tomorrow as the Dons meet the Eastern Washington Eagles beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Dons will be looking for their first 5-0 start to a season since the 1981-82 team opened the year with 10 straight wins.