Zags Take Down Dons In Spokane

Thursday, January 20

Spokane, Wash.

8:00 pm

University of San Francisco

15-4,2-2WCC

No. 1/1 Gonzaga

15-2,4-0WCC

Team	1	2	F
San Francisco	33	29	62
Gonzaga	36	42	78

Photo by: Woo Nguyen

1/20/2022 11:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – Playing in their first true road game of WCC play, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (15-4, 2-2 WCC) gave the nation's top team all they had on Thursday night, but the Dons ultimately fell to No. 1/1 Gonzaga (15-2, 3-0) on the road in Spokane, 78-62.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Catching fire out of the gates, the Dons raced out to an early 12-4 lead after back-to-back jumpers from Khalil Shabazz following the first media timeout.
Moments later, Jamaree Bouyea netted a contested three-pointer on the wing at the 13:00 mark to extend USF's lead to eleven, 15-4, but Gonzaga answered back in the minutes to follow as the Bulldogs pulled in front, 19-17, after a three-pointer from Chet Holmgren at 9:49.
Battling back, the Dons evened the contest at 21 on a highlight-reel dunk from Patrick Tapé at 6:19 as the 6'11" forward cut through the paint following a pass from Gabe Stefanini to posterize the reigning National and WCC Player of the Week, Drew Timme.
After a jumper from Yauhen Massalski kept USF on top, 25-24, with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, Julian Rishwain continued the momentum for the Dons as he knocked down a triple at 2:41 to push the score to 30-29 in favor of San Francisco. Closing out the half on a 7-3 stretch, Gonzaga rallied to pull ahead by three points heading into the locker room, 36-33.
Coming out of the break aiming to pull back ahead, Bouyea cashed in on another three-pointer just 47 seconds into the half to knot the game at 38.
Finding their groove on their home floor shortly thereafter, Gonzaga reeled off an 18-2 run in the next 7:28 to retake the lead, 56-40.
As the half played on, USF would not go down without a fight as Bouyea brought the Dons back within ten, 59-49, at the 7:57 mark. Buckling down in the final minutes of the game, the Bulldogs fended off one last push from USF to hold on and secure their 62^nd straight win in Spokane, 78-62.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Leading all scorers, Bouyea finished with a game-high 25 points while also adding 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block as the Seaside native played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and third time this season. Notably, Thursday's performance marked the 16^thtime this season in which Bouyea has tallied double figures.
Finishing with 15 points, Shabazz also reached double figures as the Seattle native poured in 10+ points for the sixth consecutive contest and 13^th time this year.
Displaying his talents on both sides of the ball, Massalski finished one point shy of a double-double as he recorded 9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in 30 minutes of action.

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 head south to Malibu to take on Pepperdine this Saturday, Jan. 22 at 4:30 pm as the Dons continue West Coast Conference play. Roxy Bernstein and Steve Lavin will have the call on NBC Sports Bay Area live from Firestone Fieldhouse while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will air live on KNBR 1050 at game time.

TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets.

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.