MORAGA, Calif. – The San Francisco men's basketball team's losing streak at McKeon Pavilion stretches back even before their head coach, Todd Golden, first stepped on the Saint Mary's campus as a preferred walk-on.
 
It's endured through seven NCAA Tournament runs and three conference tournament titles under head coach Randy Bennett.
 
On Thursday, Golden — the Gaels' tenacious three-and-D point guard from 2004 to 2008 who captained two of those Tournament teams — returned to McKeon Pavilion as the Dons' first-year head coach, and nearly ended the streak at 16.
 
San Francisco held the West Coast Conference's leading scorer without a field goal, won the rebounding battle, held the Gaels under 43% shooting and built a 14-point first-half lead. The Dons, though, couldn't overcome a strong second half from Malik Fitts, falling 58-48 to snap a three-game winning streak.
 
"It's discouraging," Golden said. "Disappointing."
 
When the teams first met this season at War Memorial Gym on Jan. 2, the Dons were in a funk.
 
They struggled on the glass — getting out-rebounded 46-31 despite being one of the top rebounding teams in the conference — and shot just 20-for-60 from the field. In that game, Gaels point guard Jordan Ford scored 16 points, including 13 in the second half.
 
Had Golden been told before Thursday that San Francisco would out-rebound the Gaels 37-28, hold them to just 20-of-47 shooting (42.5%) on the night and that Ford — averaging 22.4 points per game — would go 0-for-9, "I would have told you we won the game," Golden said.
 
In the early goings, it certainly looked like the Dons would be able to do just that, and win their first at McKeon since 2003.
 
San Francisco built a 23-9 lead on the back of 11 first-half points from Jamaree Bouyea (who finished with a team-high 19), and thanks to Golden's trademark defense, which held his alma mater to just 10-of-30 from the field before halftime. They denied the ball to Ford and the Gaels' guards, forcing the Saint Mary's bigs to take shots.
 
In the final minutes before the break, though, Ford drew two key foul calls and hit three of five attempts at the free throw line. It set the tone for the rest of the night: San Francisco made just two trips to the line, while the Gaels went 13-of-19.
 
With San Francisco's flow on offense disrupted, Saint Mary's went 6-of-11 from the field heading into the locker room, forcing eight San Francisco turnovers, the Dons began to force shots. Two minutes into the second half, the Gaels took their first lead — 31-30 — since they led 4-2 in the early goings. 
 
After starting the game on a 9-for-20 tear and hitting four of their first 10 3-pointers, San Francisco (14-7, 3-3 in WCC) went cold, going 9-for-27 from the field and 2-for-11 from 3-point range in the second half. The Gaels (17-4, 4-2) ground the pace down and forced nine more San Francisco turnovers, building a 50-41 lead of their own.
 
The Dons ratcheted up the pressure, bringing a full-court press, and a clutch 3-pointer by Khalil Shabazz — off the catch on the left wing in front of the Dons' bench — cut the lead to six with four minutes to go. A Charles Minlend layup off an errant pass by Malik Fitts cut the lead to four, and after an airball three by Tanner Krebs, Bennett called a time out with 2:09 to go.
 
"We didn't quit," Golden said. "We kept battling, kept fighting, put pressure on them."
 
Fitts, though, stopped the comeback with a hard-drive layup for the final two of his 18 points, then came up with a steal with 1:20 left. After a missed 3-pointer by Shabazz, Krebs hit the dagger three from the right corner with 40 seconds to go.
 
San Francisco now heads back home for a Saturday matinee with BYU (15-6, 4-2), which sits in a second-place tie with the Gaels in the conference standings.
 
"I told our guys up to the locker room after the game that if we can bring that same effort on Saturday," Golden said, "we're gonna get that thing done." 
 

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The Dons will return home and will be back on national TV when USF hosts BYU on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.  The Dons and Cougars will be televised on Stadium Sports Network.  Limited tickets are available and can be purchased online at USFDons.com/MBBTix.    

Please mark your calendars for the Hall of Fame Dinner on February 21^st at 6:30 PM in the McClaren Conference Center on USF's campus. We will honor our Dons of the Year, Kevin and Susan Hanley, as well as our inductees that include Dior Lowhorn (men's basketball, 2010), Joy Boyenga (women's basketball, 1992), and Kyle Zimmer (baseball, 2012). Tickets are available now at usfdons.com/halloffame.