SAN FRANCISCO – It's been three years since Pacific last got the better of the University of San Francisco men's basketball team. Thanks to the Dons' worst shooting performance of the season, the Tigers ended that streak on Thursday night.
In the 60-48 loss, San Francisco failed to break 20 points in the first half and shot 27.6%. One of the better 3-point shooting teams in the nation, the Dons went just 3-for-23 from beyond the arc. Facing a grueling three-game road stretch ahead, little went right for USF in the face of a stultifying, grinding effort from Pacific.
"They did a really good job of dictating how we were going to play offensively," said head coach
Todd Golden. "They were more physical, they played more determined. Bottom line, they were more prepared for this game than we were. Their coaching staff did a great job, and I need to do a better job moving forward."
Against a team with only one player averaging double-digits in points, the Dons couldn't capitalize on a solid defensive effort and a double-double from center
Jimbo Lull (15 points, 10 rebounds). Though San Francisco held the Tigers (18-8, 6-4 in West Coast Conference) to 41.5% from the field (22-of-53), the Dons could do little to generate offense of their own.
San Francisco (16-9, 5-5) was unable to get into its transition-based offense because the Tigers, as they did three weeks ago in Stockton, ground the game to a halt. Pacific out-rebounded the Dons 50-32, led by 20 from 6-foot-5 senior Jahlil Tripp and 12 from 7-foot-1 center James Hampshire.
"We took a lot more shots than they did and they had two guys — Tripp and Hampshire — who did a really nice job on the offensive glass," Golden said. "They were just the better team tonight."
USF started the game 1-for-9 and trailed by as many as 16 at the end of the first half, down 29-13 and shooting 5-of-28 (17.9%) from the field.
The Dons made a run in the second, cutting the lead from 15 down to five on a 15-4 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from
Charles Minlend with 12:10 to go. Down 35-31, San Francisco missed three opportunities to make it a one-possession game, and the Tigers went on a 14-4 run of their own.
"I thought the shots that we got the second half were pretty good," Golden said. "We got some open threes in transition that we weren't able to knock down and finish, but you know, we made that big run. We're putting our layups in and then miss a couple bunnies and we weren't able to close the gap and really put some serious pressure on."
Minlend finished with 15, but he and Lull were the only Dons to hit more than four field goals. Outside of that pairing, San Francisco shot 5-for-31.
On Saturday, the Dons head out to Provo, Utah to face BYU, a team ranked No. 26 in the NET. Just two weeks ago, San Francisco frustrated Yoeli Childs and got career nights from
Jamaree Bouyea and
Khalil Shabazz, who combined for 55 points in an 83-82 thriller.
Next will be Santa Clara, who the Dons ran off the floor on Jan. 9 to the tune of 80-61, with Minlend pouring in 25 as one of four in double figures.
Finally, San Francisco faces the toughest game of its season, heading to Spokane, Wash. to tangle with No. 2 Gonzaga, a team the Dons pushed to the brink in an 83-79 loss last Saturday.
Said Golden: "We've got to find a way to get back on our feet and just be able to compete a little bit better."
Please mark your calendars for the Hall of Fame Dinner on February 21st at 6:30 PM in the McLaren 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.
