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SAN FRANCISCO – Six games into the season might be a bit early to start identifying trends but there are plenty of good signs pointing in the right direction for a young USF squad which improved to 5-1 on the season after Wednesday night's 78-65 win over Alcorn State.
 
For the fourth consecutive game, the Dons shot over 50 percent from the floor, finishing at 51.7 percent on the evening. Four USF players scored in double figures for a third straight outing with freshman Charles Minlend's 14 points topping the scoring column against the Braves. The Dons were also even or better on the board for the fifth straight outing. USF has scored no fewer than 75 points in its first six games.
 
Career highs? Look no further than Matt McCarthy's 11 rebounds and Mladen Djordjevic's 10 points.
 
It all added up to a 13-point win over a game Alcorn State team, which trailed by just eight points at 60-52 with 7:59 remaining in the game before USF pulled away with a 7-0 run that boosted the Dons' lead to 67-52 with 5:22 remaining. The Dons led by as many as 18 points at 78-60 with 1:20 left.
 
Ronnie Boyce (13) and Chase Foster (12) joined Minlend and Djordjevic in double figures.
 
"We were pretty balanced tonight as far as scoring goes," said USF head coach Kyle Smith. "Charles (Minlend) can get points in bunches and Chase Foster had been steady all season. We're rebounding better as a team and we were much better at defending the three tonight than we were at Eastern Washington."
 
Minlend was 5-of-8 from the field and knocked down three of his four three-point attempts while Foster made five of his 10 shots from the floor en route to his third consecutive double-figure scoring night. Djordjevic was 4-of-4 from the field, including one three-pointer.
 
"I was pleased with our shot selection and the fact we have some really good shooters is a good combination," said Smith.
 
Reginal Johnson had 15 points to lead Alcorn State (2-4) while Marquis Vance was also in double figures with 10 points.
 
The Dons led by as many as 14 points in the first half, last at 41-27 with 2:56 left. However, the Braves used a 10-3 run to cut the lead to seven at the break, 44-37. USF shot 59 percent in the first half and made six of its eight three-pointers over the first 20 minutes.
 
USF will return to action Friday night when it entertains Lamar of the Southland Conference beginning at 7:00 p.m. on the Hilltop.