SAN FRANCISCO – When Frankie Ferrari hit a 3-point field goal, the first of his team-high 18 points, with 19:29 on the clock in the first half the Dons never looked back. As USF came away with the crucial 69-67 win on Thursday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
USF (12-10, 4-5 WCC) had three players finish in double figures led by Ferrari's 18.  Joining him was Souley Boum with 13 and Jordan Ratinho with 11.  Matt McCarthy had his second consecutive double-digit rebounding game, he grabbed a game-high 10 boards to go along with his four points.    
 
The Dons came out of the gate swinging, opening up the game on a 12-0 run.  Ferrari was the driving force, scoring 10 points early.  Boum got it going towards the end of the half with a flurry of 3-point field goals, he finished 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
The front court did their part after the intermission.  Nate Renfro scored all eight of his points after the break.  Jimbo Lull scored five of his seven in the second period as well, none bigger than his two free throws with less than 30 seconds in the contest that gave the Dons a four-point cushion. 
 
Pacific (10-12, 5-4 WCC) put a big scare into the home crowd when UOP's Miles Reynolds was fouled shooting a 3-point field goal trailing four with one second remaining.  He made two of the three free throws but a lane violation on the Tigers gave the ball to the Dons who inbounded it successfully and let the clock expire.
 
The Tigers were led by Reynold's game-high 19 points, he was one of four Tigers to finish in double figures.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Dons improve to 9-4 on the year when holding a team to 69 or less, under head coach Kyle Smith they are 26-9.
• Tonight's contest marks the fifth time this season the Dons have led wire-to-wire and the second time they've done it in back-to-back games.  USF last led the entire way against Pepperdine last Saturday.  The other wire-to-wire wins came against Sacramento State, Sonoma State, Eastern Washington and the Waves.
• With 10 turnovers to the Tigers six, the Dons improve to 6-2 when losing the turnover battle. 
• Chase Foster and Taavi Jurkatamm made their return to the lineup, the two combined to play 17 minutes.

 
NEXT UP
The Dons return to road starting Saturday when they travel to Spokane, Wash., to take on Gonzaga.  Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m.