SAN FRANCISCO – The free throw line has been unkind to the University of San Francisco men's basketball team this season, but on Saturday afternoon the Dons were nails from the charity stripe.  Nursing a 10-point lead with just a little over three minutes remaining, USF was able to put the game away making 15-of-17 over that stretch to hang on for the 74-65 win over visiting Stanford.
 
USF (12-1) is off to its best start since 1999-00 had four players finish in double figures, but the offense was not the catalyst.  The Dons defense limited Stanford (6-5) to 19 first half points, and held the Cardinal to 34.4 percent shooting going 21-for-61.  Jamaree Bouyea got the Dons in gear with a pair of early steals and a block that culminated with a fast break dunk that ignited the USF bench. 
 
The Dons tallied a season-high six blocks, none larger than the block by Charles Minlend who blocked a 3-point shot by Cardinal and put the game away. Nate Renfro also had a monster night, he played a season-high 34 minutes and finished with two blocks, three steals and two assists with six rebounds.
 
On the offense, Minlend led the Dons with 19 points, going 6-for-17 from the field, at the line he was money going 5-for-6.  The 19 point performance was Minlend's 12th double-digit scoring effort on the season.  He was joined by Frankie Ferrari who poured in 17.  Ferrari also had five assists and two steals.  Jimbo Lull notched his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.  Matt McCarthy added 10 points and two boards.
 
The Cardinal bounced back from a 19-point first half points to score 46 after the intermission to make things tense down the stretch.  A big reason from that was their shooting beyond the arc.  For the game Stanford went 8-for-24 from 3-point range, seven of them coming in the second half.
 
Four players finished in double figures by the Cardinal who were led Daejon Davis' team-high 19 points. Oscar Da Silva scored 12, followed by KZ Okpala (11) and Bryce Willis (10).
 
GAME NOTES

• With the win, the Dons earn their first win over a Pac-12 team at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center since Dec. 2, 1997 when the Dons defeated California 59-50.  USF beat Colorado 83-81 on Nov. 20, 2010 but that was prior to the Buffalo joining the Pac-12.
• USF improves to 2-0 over the Pac-12 opponents this season. That is where their record will remain as the game against Arizona State has been officially postponed until Dec. 2019.
• USF has defeated Cal and Stanford in the same season for the first time since the 1978-79 season when, oddly enough, the Dons went to Cal and beat the Bears 76-67 on Nov. 30, 1978. On Dec. 8, 1978 the Dons completed the Bay Area sweep over the Pac-12 with an 87-77 win over the Cardinal at War Memorial Gym.
• The last time the Dons defeated Stanford was on Nov. 28, 1995 when USF defeated No. 16 Stanford 59-58 at the Cow Palace.
• USF improves to 2-1 on the season when being outrebounded by their opponent.  The Cardinal owned a 42-38 advantage in rebounds on the evening. 

UP NEXT
The Dons will be off until next Saturday when they wrap up non-conference play against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m.  Fans can tune in to Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli as they call the game courtside on the home of USF Basketball, 1550-AM The Game.