SAN FRANCISCO – With 2:47 left in regulation the University of San Francisco men's basketball team had a 16 point lead over visiting California. It was the culmination of the USF's stellar second half, which was coming on the backend of back-to-back dates against Pac-12 foes.  The 76-64 win for USF gives the Dons their second consecutive win over Cal, which is the first time since December of 1986-87.
 
USF (8-2) had four players in double figures and received big contributions throughout the lineup, but the tremendous play of senior center Jimbo Lull set the tone.  Lull finished with a game-high 20 points, 13 coming after the intermission. He finished the night 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line and was two rebounds shy of a double-double.  Lull was joined by Remu Raitanen (15 points), and Jamaree Bouyea and Charles Minlend who scored 10 points each.
 
California (5-3) had two players in double figures. Leading the Bears was Kareem South who finished with 20 points.  Cal's leading scorer Matt Bradley finished with 11 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Golden Bears did not make a field goal until 13:20 in the first half, the Dons countered by going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc to open the game with a 15-4 lead early. After building a 15 point lead midway through the first, the Bears whittled that down to six with 4:34 in the half. 
 
• The charity stripe was the difference to end the half. USF went into the locker room with a two point lead thanks to their nine made free throws.  The Dons had another strong night from the charity stripe going 16-for-21.  
 
• USF closed the first half with eight players scoring at least one point. Lull led the Dons with seven first half points. USF shot 34.5 percent from the field going 10-for-29.  After starting 0-for-7 from the field, the Bears finished the first half shooting 45.8 percent from the field going 11-for-24.
 
• Out of the break the Dons took the momentum back. USF steadily built up their lead back to 12 with 11:28 to play thanks to a run that was keyed by back-to-back 3-point jumpers by Khalil Shabazz and Bouyea. But the bulk of the work was the inside play of Lull who was a force.  In the second half, USF shot 48.3 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.  Cal was just 10-for-26 from the floor and 1-for-7 from 3-point range.
 
NOTABLE NUMBERS
2: The Dons haven't won two-straight over Cal since USF defeated the Bears in back-to-back seasons starting with a 65-63 win at War Memorial Gym on Dec. 6, 1986 and followed that up with an 88-83 win over Cal in Berkeley on Dec. 3, 1987.
3: Under first year head coach Todd Golden, the Dons improve to 3-0 against in-state opponents.  USF opened the year with wins over Sonoma State an CSU Bakersfield.
20: The 20 point performance by Jimbo Lull is his second this season.  He entered the year with 19 career games in double figures but no 20-point performances.  His other 20 point game came in the loss at Hawaii.  The Dons are 5-1 this season when Lull finishes in double figures.
41.4: USF shot well from long range tonight going 12-for-29 – the 41.4 3-point field goal percentage is the second best for USF this season, trailing only the 19-for-24 performance against CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 19.
78: With his 10 points tonight, Charles Minlend moves closer to 1,000 career points.  He now has 922 points in 74 games played.
220, 221: Senior Jordan Ratinho finished the night with seven points and was 2-for-5 from beyond arc.  The two made 3-point field goals were number 220 and 221 for his career.  He now trails Ali Thomas (1997-01) by 15 for the USF record.
 
NEXT UP
The Dons will get some rest before heading back on the road. They will travel to Southern California to take on Cal State Fullerton for a 2:00 p.m. game on Saturday, December 14.