SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Competing until the final whistle, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (4-1) pushed Memphis (4-0) to the brink on Thursday night, but the Tigers ultimately used a second-half comeback to secure a 68-64 victory at Chase Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- On fire straight after the opening tip, San Francisco opened with 10 of the game's first 11 points, including two jump shots from Ndewedo Newbury, to take an early 10-1 lead three and a half minutes into the contest.
- Knotting up the ballgame, Memphis stormed back to tie the game at 14-apiece at 8:46, including three-pointers from PJ Haggerty and Colby Rogers.
- Over the next three minutes, San Francisco built back a seven-point advantage via an 8-1 spurt, capped off by a Junjie Wang layup, to take a 22-15 lead with 5:44 to play in the first half.
- Closing out the opening period with a bang, USF ended the first half of play with a Wang three followed by a Jason Rivera-Torres jam as the Dons went into the break with a nine-point lead, 31-22.
- Taking control of the game, Memphis scored the first 10 points of the second half to take its first lead of the game, 32-31, but the run was snuffed by a Newbury and-one to give the Dons a two-point lead, 34-32, at 15:37.
- Memphis kept its foot on the gas throughout the second half as the Tigers built a lead as high as seven, but USF responded by evening the game at 56-apiece following a personal 6-0 run by Malik Thomas.
- Clutch buckets from Haggerty put the Tigers up 61-57 with 1:46 to play, but a Thomas layup off of a Marcus Williams steal put the Dons within two with one minute to play.
- The green and gold had a look to tie the game with under 30 seconds remaining on the game clock, but Thomas could not convert on a potential game-tying floater. San Francisco tried to battle back in the closing seconds, but Memphis was able to escape Chase Center with a 68-64 win on Thursday night.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Leading San Francisco in scoring, Thomas finished with a game-high and season-high 25 points, which included shooting 14-of-17 from the charity stripe.
- Dominating the glass, Tyrone Riley had a career-best 13 rebounds, marking the most in a single game by a Don this season.
- As a squad, San Francisco led Memphis in total rebounds (46-43), points off turnovers (18-16), points in the paint (28-24) and second chance points (12-7).
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
San Francisco is set for another test on the national stage next week as the Dons will head to Daytona Beach to play in the Sunshine Slam. Opening the tournament, the green and gold will take on Clemson on Monday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m./6:30 pm ET as the contest will air nationally on CBS Sports Network as well as on KNBR 1050. 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,
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@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 US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor -
ABM - for their continued support of San Francisco 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.
