SPOKANE, Wash. - Battling until the final buzzer, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (15-6, 4-2 WCC) pushed Gonzaga (14-5, 5-1 WCC) to the brink on Thursday night, but the Bulldogs held on to top the Dons, 77-72, at McCarthey Athletic Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Starting the game off with effort and energy, San Francisco got on the board first on a second-chance basket from Ndewedo Newbury at 18:09 to take an early 2-0 advantage.
• With defense taking center stage to begin the ballgame, the two teams traded baskets and the lead in the opening minutes of the contest, but a driving layup from Jonathan Mogbo at the 13:29 mark put the Dons back in front, 8-7.
• After Gonzaga grabbed the lead back, 11-10, following a triple from Ryan Nembhard at 13:15, back-to-back field goals from Isaiah Hawthorne put the green and gold back in control, 13-10, with 11:54 left in the half.
• Just a few seconds before the midway mark of the first half crossed, Hawthorne scored his third straight basket for USF as his turnaround jumper kept the Dons in charge, 15-11.
• Fighting back to even things up, Nolan Hickman converted on a stepback three-pointer at 8:50 to even the score at 15 all. Twenty seconds later, Newbury answered by cashing in on a trey of his own to give San Francisco the lead back, 18-15.
• Following a layup from Ben Gregg that made it 18-17 at 7:58, neither team would find the bottom of the net over the next two minutes. Using the support of their home crowd, the Bulldogs then scored six straight points to take the lead back, 24-18, with 4:54 in the half.
• Clawing back to knot the score once more, a jumper from Mogbo evened things at 26-26 at the 2:31 mark. Although GU would pull in front in the final minute, USF held for the final shot of the first half as Newbury cleaned up a miss from Hawthorne as time expired to give San Francisco a one-point advantage, 31-30, at the halftime break.
• Coming out of the locker room, the two teams started the second half similar to how they closed the first half as neither side broke away from the other. At the 17:48 mark, Marcus Williams nailed a three-pointer to catapult the green and gold back in front, 36-34.
• Shortly thereafter, another triple courtesy of Mike Sharavjamts and a three-point play from Newbury expanded USF's lead to six, 42-36. Tying the score in the possessions to follow, Gonzaga evened the game at 42-42 on a free throw from Graham Ike at 15:31, but Ryan Beasley then knocked down a shot of his own from distance to give USF their advantage back, 45-42, at 14:24.
• With exactly ten minutes left on the game clock, Ryan Nembhard sank a jumper for GU to draw even once again at 48-48. Over the next 2:36, neither the Zags or the Dons did anything offensively as GU didn't jump back in front, 50-48, until a jumper from Anton Watson at the 7:38 mark. Just under two minutes later, another basket from Watson made it a six-point game, 56-50, in favor of the Bulldogs.
• Although USF did not shoot the ball as well in the second half, Malik Thomas cashed in on a pair of free throws at 5:20 to draw within four, 56-52. Subsequently, Gonzaga reeled off a 9-0 run over the next 2:36 to widen the gap to double digits, 65-52.
• Battling until the final whistle, San Francisco began to play the free throw game as the Dons forced GU to win the game from the free throw line down the stretch. As the Zags missed a few shots from the stripe, USF climbed back with each possession as the Dons got their deficit down to as low as three points, 71-68, with just under 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
• Unable to find the game-tying shot they needed in the final seconds, San Francisco fell just short of a double-digit comeback as Gonzaga held on to take down the Dons, 77-72. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Leading the charge offensively, Williams finished with a team-high 19 points in addition to tying his season-high with 7 rebounds. Overall, the guard shot 7-of-15 from the field, 3-of-9 from distance and 2-of-3 from the free throw line while also adding three assists in 30 minutes played.
• Providing effort and energy for the green and gold all night, Newbury tallied 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 28 total minutes. Notably, the forward shot 6-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-6 from three and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.
• Alongside Williams and Newbury, Thomas (12 points) and Hawthorne (10 points) also finished in double figures.
• As a team, San Francisco led Gonzaga in rebounds (41-32), second chance points (15-5) and bench points (14-4).

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will head south to the Rose City for their next matchup as the Dons will play a 7:00 pm matchup at Portland this Saturday, Jan. 27. Live streaming, radio and live statistics 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 sponsor - Catholic Charities - 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.