PORTLAND, Ore. – Grinding out their third straight win, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (19-5, 6-3) hung on to take down Portland (11-12, 2-6) on the road, 74-71, on Saturday evening as the Dons are now tied for third place in the West Coast Conference standings.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Trading baskets to open the ballgame, USF did not take their first lead of the contest, 8-6, until a layup from Patrick Tapé at the 17:14 mark.
• Answering back on their home floor, the Pilots rallied to grab the advantage in the following minutes, but USF responded once again to knot the score at 22 on a bucket from Yauhen Massalski at 9:06 in the first half.
• Battling until the break, Portland and USF remained even at 31 with 6:02 left in the first half, but the Pilots ultimately pulled ahead with a 10-5 run to close the half as they took a 41-36 lead into the locker room.
• Coming out of halftime, the Dons caught fire from the field as a quick 9-3 run gave USF the lead back, which was capped off by just the second made three-pointer of the year from Tapé at 16:57.
• Shortly thereafter, the Pilots found their groove offensively once more as a 16-8 stretch in the following 7:42 gave Portland the advantage with 9:15 remaining in regulation.
• Similar to the first half, the two teams continued to exchange blows as the action transpired, but USF delivered when it mattered most as an offensive rebound and putback layup from Josh Kunen with 27.0 seconds left on the game clock proved to be the game-winner for the Dons as they jumped on top, 72-70.
• After intentionally fouling the Pilots to send them to the free throw line with just over six seconds left in the contest, Chris Austin missed the second shot of a one-and-one after sinking the first to give USF the ball back.
• Nailing a pair of his own at the charity stripe, Gabe Stefanini then cashed in on two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Dons a 74-71 advantage. Displaying his quickness on both ends, Jamaree Bouyea then sealed the game by stealing the ball from the Pilots as they raced up the court to attempt one final shot as the Dons hung on to secure their third consecutive victory with a 74-71 win over Portland. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Flexing his muscle yet again, Massalski was tabbed as the Player of the Game after logging his fifth straight double-double and ninth overall this season with 22 points (10-12 FG), 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 32 minutes played.
• Enjoying another successful night offensively, Bouyea finished with his eleventh 20+ point performance of the season as the Seaside native tallied 21 points (9-17 FG), 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 37 minutes on the floor.
• As a team, USF led Portland in points in the paint (40-28) and bench points (12-5) while also forcing 12 Pilot turnovers. 

POSTGAME:

• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Todd Golden, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
USF will return home to the Hilltop for two home games this upcoming week as the Dons will host Portland on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 pm before squaring off against Pepperdine on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6:00 pm. Next weekend, USF will head to the South Bay to take on Santa Clara on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 3:00 pm.
 
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.