Dons Second Half Surge Falls Short to Lions on Senior Day

Saturday, March 2

San Francisco

1:00 P.M.

University of San Francisco

21-9, 9-7WCC

Loyola Marymount

20-10, 8-8WCC

Team	1	2	F
Loyola Marymount	31	43	74
San Francisco	25	44	69

Photo by: Christina Leung

3/2/2019 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Post Game Press Conference

SAN FRANCISCO — Playing the final home game of the regular season, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team's comeback bid in the second half fell short when Loyola Marymount held on for the 74-69 win on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

USF (21-9, 9-7 WCC) had four players in double-figures, led by Frankie Ferrari who recorded 13 points, shooting 5-for-12 from the field to go with eight assists, Jimbo Lull also carried the Dons with 13 points shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Dzmitry Ryuny put up 12 points, making it his second double-digit scoring effort in as many games. All 12 of the freshman's points came in a scintillating second half shooting performance that saw him go 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.

LMU (20-10, 8-8 WCC) went 22-for-27 from the free throw line and was 6-for-6 down the stretch to help put the game on ice. The Lions were led by James Batemon's game-high 19 points, joining him in double figures was Eli Scott who had 15. LMU shot 58.1 percent from the field and opened the second half 9-for-9 from the field as they led by as much as 10 with 12:58 to play in the contest.

Ryuny keyed the Dons' second half surge and eventually put the Dons out front when he knocked down a triple with 3:59 in the contest to give the Dons a 61-60 advantage. USF could not hold on to that lead as the Lions defense held the Dons in check for the final three minutes.

For the fourth-straight game, the Dons went into the locker room trailing at halftime, this time down six, 31-25 thanks to LMU's defense that held the Dons to just 27 field goals in the first half. For the game, USF shot 41.3 percent from the field going 26-for-63, from beyond the arc, the Dons were 10-for-33.

Following the game, USF honored its four exceptional student athletes who were playing in their final home game on the Hilltop. Michael Orlich, Frankie Ferrari, Nate Renfro and Matt McCarthy were all escorted out by friends and family and greeted by head coach Kyle Smith and new Director of Athletics Joan McDermott and Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations, Frank Allocco.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will head into post season play when the Dons travel to Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 9th at 7 p.m. The opponent is to be determined. The game will be televised on ESPN2.