STOCKTON, Calif. - Starting West Coast Conference play with a thrilling victory, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (12-4, 1-0 WCC) picked up its season-high fourth straight win on Thursday night as the Dons outlasted Pacific (6-10, 0-1 WCC), 92-88, at Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After the Tigers got on the board with the first three points of the evening, Mike Sharavjamts knocked down San Francisco's first shot of the night on an assist from Marcus Williams at 17:18 to even things at 3-3.
• With neither side able to find much momentum offensively out of the gates, a layup from Malik Thomas at 15:01 put the Dons in front, 7-5.
• Trading baskets in the minutes to follow, a triple from Williams at 10:26 kept USF on top, 16-13, as the midway mark of the first half approached.
• Connecting on another bucket to keep the green and gold in charge, Thomas converted on a jumper following another assist from Williams at 8:48 to make it 20-16 in favor of San Francisco. Just over one minute later, a dunk from Jonathan Mogbo off an assist from Thomas gave the Dons their largest lead of the half, 25-16, at the 7:27 mark.
• Answering back, Pacific responded with four straight points to draw within five, 25-20, but back-to-back threes courtesy of Josh Kunen and Sharavjamts extended USF's advantage to eleven, 31-20, at 6:09.
• Closing the opening half in a similar fashion, the Tigers and Dons matched each other to wind down the first twenty minutes of action as San Francisco maintained led by seven points at the break, 42-35.
• Coming out of the locker room, Pacific trimmed their deficit to four, 42-38, after a three-pointer from Lesown Hallums Jr to open the second half of play. However, the Dons continued to respond to each rally, including using a Mogbo layup at 17:50, to keep it a seven-point game, 49-42.
• Over the next minute and a half, the Tigers answered with a short burst as UOP reeled off a quick 6-0 run to come within one point, 49-48, at 16:28. Just a few minutes later, Pacific evened the score at 56 all on a three-pointer from Hallums Jr. at 13:52. Fast forward two minutes after this basket, three straight free throws gave the Tigers the lead, 63-60.
• Using the momentum of their home floor to turn the tides, Pacific would go on to extend their advantage as the clock ticked down. With 6:21 left remaining in regulation, a jumper from Burke Smith made it a seven-point game in favor of the home Tigers, 72-65.
• Down the stretch, San Francisco did not lose faith as the Dons clawed back with each possession, but UOP also seemed to continue to answer USF's blows. With 1:13 left on the game clock, a three from Moe Odum in the corner put Pacific up five, 78-73.
• Putting the team on his back when it mattered most, Mogbo was a one-man wrecking crew in the final minute as the forward converted on a three-point play with 54 seconds left before tipping home the game-tying shot on a missed layup from Ryan Beasley with 13.8 seconds left.
• Following one final stop of Odum on defense, the green and gold executed late to tie the game at 78-78 and force an overtime period.
• Finding momentum with their spurt to close regulation, Thomas nailed a shot at the charity stripe to begin overtime before a layup from Mogbo one minute in put USF up by three, 81-78.
• Halfway through OT, a jumper in the paint from Tyler Beard brought Pacific within one, 84-83, but this was as close as the Tigers would get for the remainder of the contest. After a layup from Thomas at 1:51, a pair of free throws from Mogbo gave the Dons a five-point lead, 88-83, with under 30 seconds left.
• Sealing the deal and reaching the 30-point mark to end the ballgame, Mogbo sank two more from the line to wrap up the evening as San Francisco hung on to grind out their first conference win of the season with a 92-88 overtime victory over Pacific.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Piecing together arguably his most dominant performance as a Don, Mogbo recorded his seventh double-double this season by finishing with 30 points and 18 rebounds to go along with three assists, one block and one steal in 39 minutes played. Getting it done at the stripe, he finished a game-high 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
• Enjoying success himself, Thomas finished one point shy of tying his season-high as the guard poured in 21 points on 7-of-14 from the floor, including an impressive 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Overall, the junior also added four rebounds, two assists and one steal in a season-high 35 minutes played against Pacific.
• Finishing in double figures for the twelfth time in sixteen games this season, Williams tallied 14 points and seven assists in 39 minutes in addition to dishing out seven assists for the second straight game. Notably, it also marked the second time in the last three games in which the guard has cashed in on three or more triples.
• As a team, San Francisco was victorious in their first overtime game this season as the Dons bested the Tigers in rebounds (36-25), blocks (5-1), points in the paint (44-34) and second chance points (13-4). 

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

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

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will have this weekend off as the Dons will return to the hardwood next Thursday, Jan. 11 with a matchup at San Diego. Tipoff from Jenny Craig Pavilion is set for 7:00 pm. Live streaming, radio and live statistics 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 sponsor - San Francisco Toyota - 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.