SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time since Feb. 2020, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (1-0) cruised to victory on opening night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center with a 98-64 win over LIU (0-1) on Tuesday evening.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Wasting no time, transfer Yauhen Massalski tallied his first points as a Don to open the scoring for both teams with a jumper just fifteen seconds into play. Shortly thereafter, six quick points from Khalil Shabazz and the first two points for Duke transfer Patrick Tapé put the Dons on top, 10-2, less than two minutes into the contest at 18:05.
• As the half continued, the Dons poured it on to as back-to-back triples from Zane Meeks and Julian Rishwainextended the USF lead to 21-8 at 12:45. 
• Enjoying a successful start as a unit, Shabazz would bang home another shot from beyond-the-arc to close out a scorching hot first half for the Dons as USF rode their early momentum to a 48-22 lead at the halftime break.
•  Moving into the second half, the Dons pushed their lead to 30 following another basket from Massalski and layup from Jamaree Bouyea to begin the action. Aiming to keep close, the Sharks would respond by trimming their deficit to 22, but three straight buckets from Masslaski, Julian Rishwain and Bouyea kept USF on top, 70-45, at the 12:19 mark.
• Cruising to the finish line, the Dons would see 12 of their 15 players who logged minutes record at least one point in the win as USF kept their foot on the gas throughout the remainder of the night to handily defeat LIU, 98-64. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Four Dons scored in double figures in the victory: Shabazz (16), Bouyea (14), Rishwain (14) and Massalski (12).
• Previously teammates at Columbia, Tapé and Gabe Stefanini shined in their debuts for the Dons. Notably, Tape tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists while also sinking 5 of his 6 free throws. Stefanini added 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 3-of-5 from distance.
• In just 13 minutes of play off the bench, Volodymyr Markovetskyy provided a spark for USF down low with 8 points, 4 rebounds (3 offensive) and 1 assist on 4-of-6 shooting in his first action as a Don.
• Showing promise in his first collegiate game, Ndewedo Newbury totaled 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist while also shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in just four minutes on the court.
• As a team, the Dons dominated the Sharks in multiple categories: points in the paints (36-25), points off turnovers (25-5), second chance points (13-1) and bench points (38-25). Overall, USF shot a blistering 53.2 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three while holding LIU to 42.1 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from deep. 

UP NEXT:
USF will continue their opening week slate with their second straight home game when they host Prairie View A&M this Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 pm. Live streaming and live statistics are available via the team's schedule page.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.