STOCKTON, Calif. – USF's six-game winning streak against Pacific came to an end Tuesday night at the Spanos Center where the Tigers downed the Dons, 79-70 before a crowd of 2,381.
 
USF held a 68-67 lead with 4:09 remaining but was outscored 12-2 down the stretch to fall to 15-13 on the year and 8-9 in the West Coast Conference. Pacific improves to 8-19 overall and 6-11 in conference action.
 
Four Dons scored in double figures, led by Devin Watson's team-high 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half. Uche Ofoegbu added 16, Chase Foster matched a career high with 13 and Tim Derksen chipped in with 12.
 
Eric Thompson made 7-of-8 shots from the floor and scored 16 points to lead three Tigers in double figures. Alec Kobre added 15 while Ilias Theodorus finished with 12.
 
The Dons shot just 40 percent from the game and were just 19-of-37 from the foul line in absorbing a nine-point road loss. The Tigers shot 51 percent from the floor, including 56 percent in the second half.
 
USF got off to a slow start, missing its first six shots from the floor to fall behind 9-1 four minutes into the game. The Tigers led by as many as 10 points in the first half on three occasions, last at 24:14 with 7:54 left. The Dons then scored the next eight points of the game to cut the Pacific lead down to 24-22 on a three-pointer by Foster but the Tigers withstood the run and took a 36-29 lead into halftime.
 
USF outscored Pacific 10-2 coming out of intermission and cut the Tiger lead to 40-39 after Derksen connected on his first three-pointer of the game. The Dons took their first lead of the game at 41-40 on a pair of Watson free throws at the 16:35 mark of the second half.
 
A pair of Foster free throws with 4:09 left gave the Dons a 68-67 lead with 4:07 remaining, but the Tigers then went on a 12-0 run keyed by three-pointers by Alec Kobre and Ray Bowles to take a 79-68 lead with :34 left. Pacific finished off the Dons at the foul line to earn their eighth win of the season.
 
The Dons went without a field goal for the final 5:41 of the game.
 
"We didn't play our A game but Pacific had a lot to do with that," said head coach Rex Walters. "Our free throw shooting really hurt us. We just didn't bring it. Bad shot selection, technical fouls – we played hard enough but just not well enough. It's disappointing."
 
USF will close out the regular season Saturday night when the Dons host Saint Mary's in War Memorial at The Sobrato Center beginning at 8:00 p.m. The game will be televised on CSNCA.