SAN DIEGO – The University of San Francisco men's basketball team led by 14 points with 41 seconds left in the first half after stymieing San Diego for 20 solid minutes.  In the second half, the Toreros returned serve, erasing the 14 point USF lead, on a strong second half that led to USF coming away with the 67-63 upset at home.
 
USF (17-4, 5-2 WCC) had three players in double figures and was led by Charles Minlend's team-high 16 points.  Nate Renfro turned in a strong performance finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.  Matt McCarthy finished two rebounds shy of a double-double, finishing the night with 11 points and eight boards.  Frankie Ferrari overcame a frigid start to finish with eight points along with eight assists.  
 
San Diego (15-7, 4-3 WCC) was led by senior Isaiah Pineiro who finished with a game-high 22 points, along with 13 rebounds for a double-double.  Pineiro had a monster second half, scoring 16 of his 22 after the intermission.  Joining Pineiro in double figures was Isaiah Wright who had 17 and Yauhen Massalski who added 13.  
 
Jenny Craig Pavilion continues to haunt the Dons who shot 34.4 percent from the field – their second-worst shooting performance of the season.  It wasn't the 3-point field goal attempts that hurt USF, who shot a respectable 34.8 percent from beyond the arc, but shots inside the key as the rim was unkind to the Dons on the evening.
 
After the Toreros scored first to open the contest, the Dons set the tempo early going on an 11-2 run boosted by a strong defensive effort.  The Dons held the Toreros to 2-for-9 from the field in the early going.  Renfro gave USF a big boost offensively going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc during that run, while also playing lock down defense on Pineiro.
 
After that strong start, the Dons went cold from the field and never really recovered. USF went into the locker room with an 11-point lead thanks in part to Minlend who got hot from long range and finished the first half with 11 points going 4-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
 
Out of the break, Pineiro got rolling.  A 12-1 run by the Toreros tied the game at 9:41 in the contest.  USF just could not get any offense during the first 11 minutes of the second half.  With the help of the free throw line, USD took the lead with 9:21 to play.  Their first lead since they were up 2-0. With all the momentum they added to their lead, eventually leading by as much as 10 with 4:39 to play.
 
The Dons made it interesting late. Trailing by eight with less than 30 seconds to play, Ferrari made a single possession game when he hit the hit a triple with 25 to play.  After a USD turnover, Ferrari got fouled going to the hoop and hit both free throws cutting it to a one possession game with 11 seconds remaining, 64-61. 
 
GAME NOTES

• The Dons failed to score at least 70 points for just the fourth time this season, in those games USF is 3-1.  In the Kyle Smith Era, the Dons are 13-22 all-time when scoring less than 70.
• For just the second time this season, USF falls in a "true" road game.  The Dons entered the game 4-1 on the road and are now 6-3 overall when not playing at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
• Milestone Watch:  With Ferrari's eight points, and Ratinho's six the two players move closer to 1,000 career points.  Ferrari now has 885 and Ratinho has 882.

 
NEXT UP
The Dons will remain on the road but will be back in the Bay Area when they travel across the Bay Bridge to take on Saint Mary's at McKeon Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 1:00 p.m.