Montville, Conn. – The University of San Francisco got a combined 46 points from guards Khalil Shabazz and Jamaree Bouyea.  Unfortunately for USF, they got little else as UMass Lowell came away with a 76-68 win at the Mohegan Sun Arena in the 2020-21 debut.
 
USF (0-1) got a tremendous performance from Shabazz who scored 31 points, one shy of his career-high, going 10-for-20 from the field.  While Bouyea finished with 15 points and four assists.  On the glass USF struggled, the River Hawks outrebounded the Dons 39 to 27.  The 27 rebounds are the fewest by the Dons since they had 25 in the loss against Harvard on Dec. 30, 2019.
 
UMass Lowell (1-0) had three players score in double figures and were led by Obadiah Noel's team-high 22 points. Noel was just 4-for-12 from the field, but adding 14 points at the free throw line.  Joining him in double figures was Connor Withers with 15 and Max Brooks with 12.
 
The Dons went into the intermission leading 30-24, out of the break Shabazz began to heat up, a layup by Damari Milstead gave the Dons a nine point lead, up 42-33 with 16:22 to play. 
 
A cold stretch lasting over eight and a half minutes saw USF go without a field goal, during that time the River Hawks went on a 17-2 run.  UMass Lowell took back the lead for good with a 3-point field goal by Allin Blunt with 10:17 to play. 
 
The Dons shot reasonably well from the field, going 23-for-61 – but most of that came from the Dons' two guards.  The rest of the squad went a combined 8-for-29.  From beyond the arc, the Dons were a combined 5-for-26.  UMass Lowell countered by shooting 52.4 percent from the field going 22-for-42. 
 
After both teams combined to go 11-for-13 from the field to start the contest, the Dons went cold. Especially from 3-point range where USF opened up the contest 0-for-10.
 
Late in the half, USF's defense feed the offense.  The Dons went on a 13-0 run late in the first half thanks in part to turnovers by the River Hawks.  USF converted 15 UMass Lowell turnovers into 13 points in the opening period.
 
Four players made their USF debut on Wednesday, with Milstead and Samba Kane making their first career starts in the Green and Gold.  Milstead finished with seven points, Kane had four points along with six rebounds. Isaiah Hawthorne logged 16 minutes in his first game as a Don, Julian Rishwain played 12.
 
USF returns to action tomorrow when they take on Towson at 12:30 p.m. PT.  That game will be streamed online on FloHoops, fans can also tune in to the official home of USF Dons basketball, KNBR 1050-AM where Pat Olson will have the call.
 

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