SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Kicking off the new season in historic fashion, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (1-0) recorded their largest margin of victory in program history (69) as the Dons defeated Bethesda (0-1), 128-59, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Monday night.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Starting the game on a hot streak, San Francisco raced out to an 11-0 within the first 2:01 following three-pointers from Marcus Williams and Isaiah Hawthorne.
• As the offense continued to flow early, the Dons stretch their lead to 21 (34-13) on a fast break basket from Jonathan Mogbo at 12:24.
• Knocking down 13 triples in the first half, USF pushed their advantage to 40 on a dunk from Mogbo at 3:06 before Isaiah Hawthorne closed out the half with a slam of his own to put the green and gold up by 50 at the halftime break, 82-32. Notably, these 82 points also marks the most points in a half by a USF team in program history, breaking the old record of 72 (vs. Loyola Marymount on 2/25/89).
• Keeping their foot on the gas pedal with the second unit, San Francisco was in rhythm all night as a three from Justin Bieker at the 11:55 mark in the second half put the Dons over the century mark, 102-45.
• Joining the party in his first collegiate game, Bay Area native Ryan Beasley knocked down a shot of his own from distance to balloon USF's lead to 60 (107-47) with 9:51 remaining in regulation.
• Down the stretch, USF continued to have their way with the ball in their hands. Falling just one point shy of the program's all-time single game scoring record, the green and gold rolled to their first victory of the year by a record 69 points, defeating Bethesda 128-59 on opening night at War Memorial. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Seven Dons finished in double figures on Monday night: Mogbo (17), Stefan Todorovic (17), Malik Thomas (17), Beasley (14), Volodymyr Markovetskyy (12), Mike Sharavjamts (11 points) and Junjie Wang (10 points).
• On the boards, five Dons tallied at least five rebounds: Wang (6), Mogbo (5), Todorovic (5), Markovetskyy (5) and Sharavjamts (5).
• As a team, San Francisco shot a scorching 65.4 percent (51-78) from the field and 44.4 percent (16-36) from beyond-the-arc. Defensively, the Dons held Bethesda to 36.4 percent from the floor (20-55) and 11.5 percent from deep (3-26). Notably, 81 of USF's 128 points also came from the bench. 

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame press conference with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
• To view the full postgame press conference with Jonathan Mogbo and Stefan Todorovic, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will continue their homestand this Thursday, Nov. 9 when they welcome Saint Francis to the Hilltop for a 7:00 pm matchup. The contest will air live on ESPN+ and KNBR 1050 at game time. Live streaming, radio, live statistics and ticket links are available via the team's schedule page.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Coca-Cola - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.