STOCKTON, Calif. – The University of San Francisco had three players finish in double figures but could not stop Pacific in crunch time.  The Tigers went on a big run late in the second half and held on to win 76-69 at the Alex G. Spanos Center on Saturday night.
 
USF (10-13, 4-8 WCC) finished the night with 38 points in the paint, and shot 42.4 percent from the field.  The Dons just couldn't get it going from beyond the arc.  USF shot just 4-for-26 from 3-point range, a season-low. 
 
Jamaree Bouyea's led all scorers with a game-high 22 points.  He also had 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.  Joining him with 20 points was Julian Rishwain who has put together back-to-back 20-point performances with 21 tonight. Rishwain was 7-for-11 from the field, and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Khalil Shabazz had 15.  The last time the Dons had two 20-point scorers in a game came against BYU on Jan. 25, 2020 when Bouyea and Shabazz put on a show.
 
Pacific (9-8, 6-7 WCC) only played seven players, but five of those finished in double figures.  The Tigers were led by Pierre Crockrell II's 17 points.  Brock Finstuen and Jeremiah Bailey had 16 apiece.  Jordan Bell had 12 and Daniss Jenkins had 11. UOP shot 49.2 percent on the evening going 29-for-59, they also went 4-for-10 from beyond the arc.
 
"Incredibly disappointing, but we will try to get it figured out as we head to Las Vegas," said head coach Todd Golden. "At the end of the day we are not playing well enough, we've got to find a way to get back to playing the way we were prior to the break. When you aren't making shots, you have to defend well and take care of the ball and we aren't doing enough of that right now."
 
Early in the contest the Tigers jumped out to an 11-5 lead. Even though USF went only 2-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half, Pacific could not pull away early. USF clawed their way back into the contest and with 2:22 at the end of the first half took their first lead of the game on a layup by Josh Kunen.
 
In the final 36 seconds of the half, Bouyea hit a pull up jumper in the key to give USF a 31-30 lead.  The Tigers looked destined to go into the locker room up a pair when Cockrell finished the traditional 3-point play with under eight seconds remaining.  But Bouyea caught the Tigers napping and drove the length of the court for a bucket at the buzzer tie it up at 33.
 
Bouyea finished the first half with 13 points and seven rebounds, along with two assists. Kunen and Rishwain had seven each.
 
Out of the break the Tigers went on a quick 7-0 run to go up 40-33. But USF refused to go away, and a layup in the paint by Rishwain had the Dons back out front 47-46 with 11:34 to play.  Two possessions later Rishwain was fouled going to the hoop and got the free throw putting USF out front 50-48.  That was the last time the Dons would have the lead. 
 
A 3-point field goal by Bailey began a 14-3 run that gave Pacific a lead they would not relinquish.  The dagger being a layup by Finstuen to give the Tigers an 11-point lead with under 1:30 to play.   
 
It will be announced officially tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. by the West Coast Conference, but the Dons appear to be the eighth seed in the WCC Tournament where they will likely play San Diego at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Orleans Arena.