MALIBU, Calif. – With 14 seconds left in regulation
Frankie Ferrari pulled up from beyond the arc with the Dons trailing 69-67 and hit one of the biggest 3-point field goals in his career, giving the University of San Francisco a 70-69 lead. But the heroics did not end there. Needing another stop,
Jamaree Bouyea came up with the biggest steal of his career with four seconds remaining and was fouled – the ensuing free throws put the game away as the University of San Francisco men's' basketball team defeated host Pepperdine 72-69 on Saturday evening at Firestone Fieldhouse.
With the win, USF (14-2, 2-0 WCC) improves to 2-0 in the West Coast Conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The Dons knew they were in for a battle early, and that's what they got from a spirited Pepperdine (8-8, 1-1 WCC) squad.
Eight players scored at least two points for the Dons tonight who were led by
Charles Minlend's game-high 21 points, he also had seven rebounds and more importantly was 8-for-9 from the free throw line – 5-for-5 in the second half.
Jimbo Lull also had a tremendous evening, he tied his career-high with 18 points and came up with big buckets in the paint all evening. Ferrari finished with eight points as did
Jordan Ratinho.
Defensively, the Dons held the Waves to 25 percent shooting in the second half. Pepperdine shot 45.7 percent in the first half but was held to 8-of-32 shooting in the second as USF's defense was suffocating.
The Dons opened the game on a 6-0 run, however it was a battle the rest of the way in the opening half. The Waves took their first lead of the game at 7:11 in the first half on a layup by Kameron Edwards, two of his team-high 19 points. After 16 ties and seven lead changes the Waves went into the locker room leading by five, 40-35. Pepperdine outrebounded the Dons 23-13 in the first half and tallied 11 second chance points.
Both teams shot well from the field, with USF connecting on 48.1 percent of their field goal attempts, going 13-for-27 from the floor. From 3-point range, the Dons were 4-for-10 and got plenty of good looks as the ball movement was fantastic by USF in the opening half and all evening.
Foul trouble plagued the Dons early, as
Nate Renfro had three fouls very quickly and
Matt McCarthy picked up a pair.
Taavi Jurkatamm,
Remu Raitanen and
Dzmitry Ryuny saw lots of action early; Ryuny hit a deep triple at the top of the key to briefly tie the game at 31, he finished the night with five points.
Out of the break the Dons went on a 9-2 run to retake the lead. The Dons rebounding was the difference, outrebounding the Waves 10-5 halfway through the second period. USF finished plus-1 in the rebound column in the second half, outrebounding the Waves 19-18. Pepperdine tallied seven offensive rebounds that helped keep Pepperdine in the game.
COACH'S QUOTE
GAME NOTES
- With the win the Dons have won 13 of the last 15 over the Waves and five-straight dating back to Feb. 2, 2017.
- After being outrebounded 41-32, the Dons improve to 3-1 this season when being outrebounded by their opponent.
- Pepperdine entered tonight 6-1 at home this year, the Dons improve to 3-1 in true road games and 5-2 away from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
- The 29 points that the Waves scored in the second half is tied for the third fewest allowed by the Dons this season in the second period.
- The Dons shot a season-best 84.2 percent from the free throw line tonight, going 16-for-19. In the second half they were 11-for-11.
- Minlend has scored in double figures in 15 of 16 contests this year, the Dons are 13-2 this season when he scores 10 or more and 25-5 overall.
- Tonight's game featured 14 lead changes and 22 ties.
NEXT UP
USF will return home and get Thursday off. Their next game will be on Saturday, Jan. 12 when No. 7 Gonzaga comes to the Hilltop. Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN2.
