TEMPE, Ariz. – Bouncing back following their first loss on Saturday evening, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (11-1, 0-0) responded in Tempe on Sunday as the Dons squeezed past Arizona  State (5-7, 1-1), 66-65, in their first true road game of the season.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Notching the opening points of the night on a crafty jump hook, Yauhen Massalski scored the first basket of the evening for either side at the 19:16 mark to give USF the early advantage.
• Shortly thereafter, the Sun Devils answered with a 9-0 run to jump in front, 9-2, at 17:19. Battling back, Zane Meeks connected on a triple to bring USF back to within three points, 19-16, as the midway point of the first half approached.
• Putting the team on his shoulders, Khalil Shabazz followed Meeks by cashing in on back-to-back three-pointers at 8:02 and 6:49 to catapult the Dons back on top, 27-25. 
• Exchanging buckets as the clock wound down, Jamaree Bouyea capped off a tight first half as the fifth year guard deflected an Arizona State pass with just a few seconds left before slamming home a two-handed jam in transition to give USF the 36-34 lead heading into the locker room.
• Coming out of halftime, the Sun Devils quickly evened the contest on a jumper by Jay Heath just 29 seconds into play, but Bouyea would respond once again, this time finding the open Patrick Tapé for a dunk on the low block as the Dons regained their advantage, 40-38 at 17:39.
• Matching each other stride for stride, USF and Arizona State remained a close battle as the half transpired. With just over ten minutes left in regulation, Josh Kunen nailed a clutch three on the right wing to keep the Dons ahead by one, 52-51.
• Approaching crunch time, the Sun Devils capitalized on a few blunders to reel off a 9-2 run and pull back in front of USF, 60-54. Never backing down, the Dons rallied by answering with a 7-0 stretch of their own as Meek's fifth made three of the night gave USF a three point advantage, 63-60, at 2:58.
• Leaning on the strength of their home crowd, ASU found the go-ahead baskets in the moments to follow to grab the lead once more, 65-63. However, the stellar IQ of Dzmitry Ryuny proved to be the difference as the forward came off the bench to draw a shooting foul behind the three-point line with 12.1 seconds remaining on the game clock. With ice in his veins, Ryuny then sank all three free throws from the line to put the Dons on top by one.
• Locking down on defense to close out regulation, USF ultimately denied the final two offensive attempts from the Sun Devils as Dons hung on to take down Arizona State, 66-65, for their first true road win of the season. Notably, the victory marked USF's first over ASU since a 102-90 win on Dec. 30, 1977 in San Francisco.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Providing a spark off the bench, Meeks was tabbed the Player of the Game after recording a new career-high with five made threes. Overall, the 6'9" forward finished 5-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from distance while also adding down five rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
• Setting a new season-high, Shabazz led all scorers with 20 points (7-20 FG, 4-12 3PT) as he also tallied two assists, one rebound and one steal in the victory.
• As a team, the Dons led the Sun Devils in fast break points (14-12) and bench points (30-23).

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 return home to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for a midweek matchup with Southern Illinois as the Dons are set to host the Salukis this upcoming Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 2:00 pm. Live stream, radio, live statistics and ticket links are all available via the team's schedule page.
 
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.
 
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.