SAN FRANCISCO – The University of San Francisco men's basketball team righted the ship on Saturday evening defeating visiting Pepperdine 80-73 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.  Strong guard play and a solid night at the charity stripe proved to be the difference for the Dons.
 
Frankie Ferrari and Jamaree Bouyea both tallied career-highs while Jordan Ratinho joined his backcourt mates in double figures as USF (11-10, 3-5 WCC) put an end to the three-game losing streak.
 
Ferrari finished with a game-high 22 points, 11 coming after the break.  He was 6-for-16 from the floor and 3-for-8 from beyond the arc.  In what ended up being the difference in the game, he was 7-for-10 from the free throw line on the evening, all coming after the intermission.
 
Bouyea put on a stellar shooting display after the break, giving the Dons a huge boost in the second half going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.  He entered the evening 3-for-28 from long range but got it going when the Dons needed it, making three-straight from distance when the Waves had cut the lead to one point 40-39 with 12:24 in regulation.
 
Ratinho finished with a workmanlike 14 points, the 13^th time this season he's finished in double figures.  He went 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from long range, he also collected five rebounds, all while being harassed defensively by former De La Salle teammate Amadi Udenyi.
 
Pepperdine (3-17, 0-8 WCC) refused to go away, even after the Dons opened the game with a 10 point lead midway through the first half, eventually cutting the deficit to one.  The Waves defense held the Dons to no field goals over the final 3:27 but it would not matter as USF went 15-for-25 from the free throw line after the break to put the game on ice.
 
Leading the Waves was Kameron Edwards who finished with a team-high 18 points. Freshman guard Colbey Ross finished with 15.
 
GAME NOTES

• USF improved to 8-0 when scoring 73 or more points, the last time the Dons eclipsed the 73-point mark came against the Waves down in Malibu two weeks ago, when the Dons came away with the 80-67 win.
• Matt McCarthy was one-point shy of recording his second double-double of the season, he finished with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.  The 12 rebounds are tied for a season-high with Remu Raitanen who grabbed 12 in the loss at Long Beach State in the season opener.
• The Dons improved to 10-0 this season when leading at halftime.  The lone game in which USF was the victor after trailing at the break came against Radford on Dec. 19 when they overcame a 22-18 deficit.
• Tonight's win was the 80^th against Pepperdine.  All-time the Dons re 80-52 against the Waves, dating back to the first time these teams met in 1955.

 
NEXT UP
The Dons will play the finale of this current four-game home stand when Pacific comes to town on Thursday.  Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m., for tickets visiting Dons Ticket Central.