SAN FRANCISCO – A strong second half surge was not enough as the University of San Francisco men's basketball team fell to visiting BYU by a final score of 69-59 on Thursday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Junior
Matt McCarthy and senior
Chase Foster led the Dons with 16 and 14 points respectively.
USF (9-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed for most of the game, after BYU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. The Cougars (13-3, 2-1 WCC) went into the locker room leading 33-26 after shooting 47.8 percent from the floor in the first half.
Coming out of the break, the Dons played tremendous defense, holding BYU to 0-for-5 to begin the half. The Dons eventually tied the game 44-44 following a
Nate Renfro dunk to cap a 16-11 run. USF's defense would force several turnovers, one of which led to a
Jordan Ratinho 3-point field goal from the top of the key that gave the Dons a 53-51 lead with 8:35 in the game.
BYU turned the tide, going on a quick 6-0 run of their own and took the lead for good on a 3-point field goal by Elijah Bryant. Bryant led all scorers with 17, he was one of three Cougars in double figures.
GAME NOTES
- The Dons Were held to just eight free throw attempts on the evening, going 3-for-8. BYU finished the night 18-for-25 from the charity stripe.
- The Dons fall to 4-6 on the year when turnovers are tied or USF has few turnovers than their opponent. Tonight, the Dons and Cougars each had 15 turnovers apiece.
- USF was held to a season-low 25 rebounds on the evening, their previous low was 27 which came in the loss at Stanford on Dec. 17. Nate Renfro finished with nine boards, a season-high for the junior.
- The Dons lost for just the seventh time under head coach Kyle Smith when holding an opponent under 70. They entered tonight 24-6 in those contests.
- BYU's largest lead of the night was 13 points with 9:06 in the first half. That is the largest lead the Dons have overcome this season.
NEXT UP
USF will travel south to Malibu for a quick one game road trip when the Dons take on Pepperdine at 1:00 p.m.
