CARBONDALE, Ill. – A 16-2 run midway through the second half ended any hopes for a second-half comeback for Southern Illinois as the University of San Francisco men's basketball team came away with a comfortable 76-60 road win on Saturday night at the Banterra Center.
 
The Dons (4-0) punished the Salukis (2-3) on the glass, outrebounding SIU 39-23. On the offensive glass the Dons turned 14 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.  On defense, USF held the Salukis to zero second chance points.
 
"I'm thrilled," said head coach Todd Golden. "We knew this was going to be the toughest game of the season. I'm really proud of the way our guys stepped up.  They weren't intimidated by the atmosphere, they stuck to what we talked about and just played our game.  I thought we did a particularly good job of not letting what they did affect our game."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Dons opened the game on a 9-0 run thanks in part to a fast start by Josh Kunen.  The Dons had two blocks early that led to quick transition buckets.  In the opening four minutes, Kunen tallied four rebounds and five points.  He finished the night with seven points and eight rebounds.
 
• Following a 10-5 run by the Salukis to cut the Dons' lead to four midway through the first half, USF went back on another run, going back up 10 – 25-15 following a layup by Kunen.  Every run by SIU was answered by the Dons who went into the locker room leading 38-31. 
 
• USF shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first period going 15-for-29 and a bulk of the Dons work came inside the paint, where USF scored 22 of their 38 points.  The Dons were just 4-for-14 from beyond the arc in the first half.  Jordan Ratinho's 3-point field goal with 7:30 left in the half was his 1,001^st career point.
 
• Out of the break, the Salukis cut the Dons lead to four, 43-39, following a layup.  From there, USF pulled away.  The Dons went on a 16-2 run fueled by the stellar defense and the Dons' hot stretch from beyond the arc. USF went 4-for-8 from long range during a torrid four minute run with Ratinho dropping a pair as well as Jimbo Lull who hit his first career 3-point field goal.
 
• The three point field goal by Ratinho on the assist by Lull with 12:59 in the game effectively put the game on ice.  The Salukis never cut the deficit to single digits. For the game, USF shot 49.2 percent going 30-for-61 and from 3-point range, USF connected on 34.4 percent of their shots going 11-for-32.
 
• SIU was led by Aaron Cook's team-high 13 points.  He was the only player in double figures for the Salukis who shot 45.8 percent from the field (22-for-48).    
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
4: The Golden Era is off to a strong start, the four wins by the Dons matches the start by Kyle Smith in 2016.
9: All nine players who saw action tonight scored at least three points. USF had three players in double figures for the fourth consecutive game.
16: USF finished the night +16 in the rebound column, the second best margin of the season for the Dons.  Three players finished with eight or more rebounds: Jamaree Bouyea (nine), Jimbo Lull (eight) and Josh Kunen (eight).
1,000: With his first 3-point field goal of the night, Jordan Ratinho became the 37^th player in USF history to score 1,000 points.
 
NEXT UP
The Dons will return to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Tuesday night when they host CSU Bakersfield.  Tuesday's game is slated for a 7:00 p.m. PT tip and will feature live stats and be streamed live on The WCC Network.  As always fans can tune into Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli on the official home of USF Dons Basketball, KNBR 1050-AM.