SAN FRANCISCO – Squaring off against a familiar opponent in front of a raucous, sold out crowd, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team earned a statement win to begin West Coast Conference play with a 76-72 win over Saint Mary's.  USF led for 36 minutes of the contest and withstood a late run by the Gaels as the Dons won their second-straight over Saint Mary's for the first time since January 2002.
 
Thursday night's contest might go down as the Nate Renfro game, as the senior forward was tremendous in all phases of the game. Renfro finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double of the season and third of his career.  From the free throw line Renfro was fantastic, going 9-for-11.
 
Joining Renfro in double figures was Frankie Ferrari who had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds.  Ferrari was 7-for-16 from the floor and 2-for-5 from long range as he had one of his more aggressive offensive nights of the season. Jimbo Lull finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Charles Minlend had 11 points and three rebounds. 
 
Saint Mary's (9-7, 0-1 WCC) jumped out to an early 6-2 lead after Jordan Ford hit a jumper from just outside the key.  Ford was as good as advertised, finishing with a game-high 24 points.  Ferrari responded with a 3-point field goal on the next possession to make 6-5.  From there the Dons went on a 12-2 run to go up 17-8.  USF extended their lead to 10 on five separate occasions as the offense was clicking in the first half. 
 
USF (13-2, 1-0 WCC) shot 50.0 percent from the field going 15-for-3 from the floor and 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half.  They went into the locker room holding a 40-33 advantage.
 
Out of the intermission, the Gaels cut the Dons lead to five, 49-44 at the 15:28 mark, following a jumper by Malik Fitts.  USF responded, going on another crucial run, this time an 8-0 run to make it 57-44.  Back-to-back 3-point field goals by Remu Raitanen and Minlend gave the Dons a big spark.
 
Saint Mary's went on a run of their own, eventually tying the game at 60-60 with 7:57 left in the contest.  USF quickly recaptured the lead and with 4:08 left Lull put the Dons back up eight with a huge bucket in the paint.  Minlend and Jamaree Bouyea put the finishing touches on the win, Minlend by way of an emphatic dunk with 18 seconds and Bouyea with a block on a 3-point attempt by Tanner Krebs with two seconds remaining.
 
GAME NOTES

• The last time the Dons won back-to-back games against Saint Mary's came on Jan. 16 and 19 in the 2001-02 season.  That season, the Dons defeated first year head coach Randy Bennett with an assistant named Kyle Smith on the bench.
• With the win, the Dons improve to 101-80 against the Gaels.  At War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, USF improves to 33-26.
• Nate Renfro's 18 points ties his career-high set against North Texas in the championship game of the CBI last season.
• The Dons controlled the glass yet again tonight, they outrebounded the Gaels 40-36, USF had 12 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second chance points.  Saint Mary's had just 10 offensive rebounds and scored just nine second chance points.
• USF improves to 44-12 when scoring at least 70 points in the Kyle Smith era, this season they are 11-2 when scoring at least 70.
• USF's 13-2 start is the best since the 1981-82 season when the Dons opened up the year 14-1 through 15 games.

 
NEXT UP
The Dons will board a plane tomorrow and travel south as they take on Pepperdine down at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu on Saturday.  That game is slated for a 5:00 p.m. tip and will be streamed live on TheW.tv.