PHOENIX, Ariz. – Coming down to the final possession of regulation, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (10-1, 0-0 WCC) dropped their first contest of the season on Saturday night as the Dons fell to Grand Canyon (10-2, 0-0 WAC), 49-48, in a back-and-forth affair at Footprint Center in the 2021 Jerry Colangelo Classic.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Getting started on the right foot, USF raced out to an early 5-0 lead to begin the ballgame following baskets from Jamaree Bouyea and Yauhen Massalski.
• Trading blows as the half transpired, the Dons remained on top, 11-8, following a tricky layup from Khalil Shabazz midway through the period at 10:23.
• In the minutes to follow, GCU jumped in front to take their first lead of the night, but USF answered back with three consecutive buckets from Shabazz, Massalski and Julian Rishwain to regain their five-point advantage, 17-12, at the 6:11 mark.
• Respond right away, the Antelopes reeled off a 10-2 run to close the first half as USF trailed 22-19 heading into intermission.
• Continuing the same pattern out of the break, the Dons trimmed their lead to two, 28-26 at the 16:17 mark in the second half, but GCU returned fire once more as a three-pointer from Holland Woods put the Antelopes up eight, 34-25 at 15:19.
• Climbing back, USF closed the gap and ultimately retook the lead, 35-34, with just over eleven minutes remaining in the game on a pull-up jumper from Shabazz. Shortly thereafter, GCU wasted no time to grab the advantage once again as they used another 10-2 stretch to go on top, 44-37 with 6:36 left on the game clock.
• Fighting until the final whistle, a layup from Massalski at 2:01 cut USF's deficit to one once more, 46-45, but another three and a made free throw from the Antelopes pushed the margin back to four, 49-45, with 1:04 remaining.
• Aiming for a thrilling comeback victory, Josh Kunen nailed a three in transition following a deflection from Bouyea and a steal from Gabe Stefanini to keep the Dons within one, 49-48, with 34 seconds left. Falling just a little long, Stefanini would get an open look at the game-winner on the final possession of regulation, but his shot would prove to be slightly too strong as GCU hung on to take down the Dons for the first time in 2021-22 by a final score of 49-48.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Logging his third double-double in his last four games, Massalski was named Player of the Game after finishing with 18 points (team-high), 13 rebounds (team-high), 3 blocks (game-high), 2 steals (tied team-high) and 1 assist on 8-14 from the floor.
• Contributing when called upon off the bench, Kunen finished 3-of-4 from the field and 1-2 from distance while also grabbing five rebounds for the fourth consecutive contest.
• As a team, USF led GCU in points in the paint (32-18), second chance points (16-9), fast break points (7-3) and bench points (9-2).

POSTGAME:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Todd Golden, please click here.

UP NEXT:
USF will conclude their short two game road trip when they square off against Arizona State tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 19, at 3:00 pm PT/4:00 pm MT. Thus 
 
TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for non-conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. Tickets for West Coast Conference opponents are now also on sale and can be purchased here.
 
Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.
 
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