STOCKTON, Calif. – Digging deep on the road, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (17-12, 6-9 WCC) grinded out their fifth victory away from the Hilltop on Thursday night as the Dons hung on take to take down Pacific (13-15, 6-7 WCC), 76-68, and secure the season sweep of the Tigers.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Getting things started from behind-the-arc, Josh Kunen knocked down the first shot of the game for either team as he nailed his first three-pointer at just 54 seconds into the contest to give USF an early 3-0 lead.
- Matching each other to begin the ballgame, the Dons and Tigers remained close through the first ten minutes of play before Khalil Shabazz pushed USF's advantage to four, 22-18, following a pair of made free throws at the 11:11 mark.
- Despite the Tigers answering to jump in front for a brief moment, the green and gold regained control, 29-27, following a pair of free throws from Isaiah Hawthorne at 5:21.
- Closing their first twenty minutes of action with momentum, USF outscored Pacific, 16-9, in the final five plus minutes of the first half as the Dons held a four-point lead, 38-34, heading into the locker room.
- Coming out of the break, the Tigers continued to fight, which included knotting the game at 45 following a triple from Moe Odom at the 14:14 mark in the second half.
- Defending their home floor, Pacific fought back to retake the lead toward the midway point of the second half, but five straight points from the Dons beginning at 8:30 put USF back in the driver's seat, 58-53, with 7:13 left in regulation.
- Coming off the bench to provide a critical spark, Volodymyr Markovetskyy grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw at 4:45 before laying it back up to extend USF's advantage to double digits, 65-55.
- Fighting until the final whistle, Pacific cut their deficit to four, 68-64, with 2:09 left on the game clock, but Shabazz responded by knocking down 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:20 of the contest to help USF pull away and secure the 76-68 road win.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Dazzling on both ends yet again, Shabazz was tabbed Player of the Game after finishing with a game-high 26 points, which included making 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. Overall, the Seattle native also added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes played.
- Exploding alongside Shabazz, Tyrell Roberts poured in 25 points on 9-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from deep. Notably, the Washington State transfer added five rebounds, three steals and two assists in 39 total minutes on the hardwood.
- As a team, USF separated themselves on the glass as the Dons collected 16 offensive rebounds in addition to a 17-9 advantage in second chance points. Playing as a unit, the green and gold also led Pacific in points in the paint (28-22) and points off turnovers (13-12).
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
USF will have this Saturday off as the Dons will prepare for their final home game of the regular season when they welcome Portland to the Hilltop for an 8:00 pm matchup against the Pilots next Thursday, Feb. 23. Live streaming, radio and live statistics are available via the
team's schedule page. Tickets to the final contest of the year can be purchased via the
team's schedule page or
usfdons.com/tickets.
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.
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at
www.usfdons.com/shop.
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor -
Provident Credit Union - 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.
