MBB | Dons Outlast Bears In Thriller - University of San Francisco Athletics

Monday, December 4

San Francisco

7 p.m.

University of San Francisco

4-3

Central Arkansas

4-5

Team	1	2	F
Central Arkansas	33	43	76
San Francisco	37	41	78

Photo by: Gerome Wright

MBB | Dons Outlast Bears In Thriller

12/4/2017 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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SAN FRANCISCO – With 3.4 seconds left in regulation, nursing a two-point lead, freshman guard Jamaree Bouyea did just enough on defense to keep sharp shooting Jordan Howard from getting a good look at a would-be game winning 3-point bucket as time expired. When the horn sounded the University of San Francisco men's basketball team captured a thrilling 78-76 win over visiting Central Arkansas on Monday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

USF (4-3) overcame a very slow start offensively to finish with 78 points, which is tied for a season-high. The Dons started the game with a 1-for-12 performance from beyond the arc, 0-for-11 after Jordan Ratinho hit the Dons' first attempt from long range.

After trailing by nine with 8:51 in the first half, USF went on a 10-2 run that woke the offense up. Frankie Ferrari did most of the heavy lifting, scoring 11 of his season-high 15 points before the intermission. From 3-point range, Ferrari was locked in going 3-for-5 in the period.

Foul trouble slowed him down offensively in the second half where Ratinho, Remu Raitanen, and Mladen Djordjevic stepped up. Ratinho finished with a team-high 17 points, while Raitanen and Djordjevic finished with nine, and eight points respectively.

In the second half, USF shot much better, going 14-for-33 (42.4 percent) from the floor. They finished the game going 38.1 percent from the field, including 35.5 percent from distance, in the second half USF went 6-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Central Arkansas (4-5) was led by Howard's game-high 27 points. He was one of three Bears in double figures. UCA shot 51 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3-point range, going 10-for-18, most of that coming from Howard who was 5-for-9 from long distance.

GAME NOTES

The 78 points scored by the Dons matches their season-high that they scored against Sonoma State on Nov. 21.
With tonight's win, the Dons are 2-0 on Monday nights this season, they also defeated Saint Francis on a Monday night for the first win of the season.The Dons are now 3-1 on Monday and Tuesday nights.
UCA's 10-for-18 performance was a season-high allowed by the Dons defense.USF entered tonight's contest No. 6 in the nation in 3-point field goal defense, holding opponents to 24.5 percent from beyond the arc.
USF's bench finished with 39 points on the evening, making it seven-straight the reserves have scored at least 26.The bench accounted for 21 of the Dons' 37 first half points.
USF got back to cleaning up the glass.After getting outrebounded for the first time all season on Saturday, the Dons finished tonight +13 in the rebound margin, a season-best.

NEXT UP
The Dons return to action on Thursday evening, when Eastern Washington comes to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Tip off for the non-conference clash is slated for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting the Dons Ticket Office or calling 415-422-2USF (2873).

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