SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Showing out in an early season test, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (2-0) defended the Hilltop on Saturday night as the Dons used another second half surge to down Boise State (1-1), 84-73, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Starting out the game, Malik Thomas converted an and-one and Marcus Williams sank an early three-pointer to give San Francisco a 6-0 advantage at the 18:30 mark.
- Five points from Tyson Degenhart helped keep the contest close for Boise State, trailing 17-13 at 13:06, but back-to-back buckets from Jason Rivera-Torres and Carlton Linguard Jr. boosted the USF lead to nine, 22-13 at 10:10.
- Eager to knot the game, the Broncos put together a 12-3 run, including five from Degenhart, to tie the score at 25-apiece at 4:09.
- Closing out the period, three-pointers from Williams and Rivera-Torres contributed to a 7-1 run to conclude the final two minutes of the first half as the Dons took a 36-30 lead into the break.
- Quick to balloon the advantage, five quick points from Williams and a transition three from Ndewedo Newbury put the green and gold ahead 43-32 two minutes into the second half.
- With the score at 47-38 at 16:03, Boise State rallied for 12 straight points over the next four minutes, capped off by a Degenhart and-one, to take its first lead of the game, 50-47.
- Following the 12-minute media timeout, San Francisco wasted no time to get the advantage back as the Dons scored 16 unanswered points, including a 7-0 personal run by Newbury, to regain a double-digit advantage, 63-50 at 7:34.
- Five more points by Degenhart helped trim USF's lead to eight, 65-57, but two jumpers from Malik Thomas, a huge putback dunk from Tyrone Riley IV and another Williams three-pointer all but finished the job for San Francisco, as the green and gold's lead expanded to 78-62 with 2:48 to play.
- Capping off the contest, free throws from Williams and Thomas helped seal the deal for the Dons as San Francisco hung on to notch an 84-73 victory over Boise State.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- All five San Francisco starters scored in double-figures on Saturday night as Thomas scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting in 23 minutes of action. With this effort, the guard has opened the new season with back-to-back 20+ point performances.
- Williams followed suit with his own 20-point outing, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from distance against the Broncos.
- Tabbed as Player of the Game, Newbury notched his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists, one steal and one block.
- Rounding out the double-figure scorers, Riley IV and Linguard Jr. each had 10 points, with Riley IV leading the team in plus-minus (+18), and Linguard Jr. tallying a game-high three blocks.
- As a unit, USF shot 29-of-55 (52.7 percent) from the floor while also outrebounding Boise State, 37 to 30. Spreading the wealth, the green and gold tallied 14 assists to the Broncos' eight in the win.
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
Next week, San Francisco will finish a four-game homestand as the Dons welcome defending Big West Tournament champion Long Beach State on Wednesday, Nov. 13 for a 7 p.m. matchup. Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun will have the call on KNBR 1050 will Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli while have the call 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,
@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 US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor -
Coca-Cola - 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.
