PEORIA, Ill. - Closing out a road swing in the Midwest, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (9-3) fell just short on Wednesday night as Bradley (9-2, 1-0 MVC) outlasted the Dons in the second half to secure a 66-64 victory at Carver Arena.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After a Duke Deen jumper got the scoring started just 57 seconds into play, San Francisco got on the board on a breakaway dunk from Tyrone Riley IV at 17:39 to even the score early at 2-2.
• Over the next two plus minutes, Malik Thomas picked up where he left off as he netted five straight points to give the Dons the lead, 7-2, at 15:32.
• Just over one minute later, Thomas converted an and-one at 14:21 to keep the green and gold up by five, 10-5.
• Following a layup from Marcus Williams at 12:20, San Francisco did not score again until a free throw from Riley IV at 8:36, but defensive pressure by the Dons helped USF maintain a 13-11 advantage.
• With both offenses struggling over the next handful of minutes, Bradley used a 9-3 run to jump in front, 20-16, with 4:49 left in the first half.
• Flipping the script to close out the first twenty minutes of action, San Francisco answered with an 11-5 run of their own as a Junjie Wang three-pointer with 41 seconds left helped the Dons wrap up the opening half with a 27-25 lead.
• Coming out of the locker room, Thomas knocked down another triple to keep the green and gold in control, 30-28, just one minute into the second half. However, a quick 6-0 stretch from Bradley put the Braves back in the driver's seat, 36-30, at 16:58.
• Staying on the heels of Bradley, a dunk from Carlton Linguard Jr. at 10:36 kept San Francisco within one point, 39-38. Punching back, the Braves reeled off a 13-3 stretch over the next five minutes to take a double-digit lead, 52-41, with 6:09 remaining in regulation.
• Not backing down, San Francisco got stops and scored five straight points as a free throw from James O'Donnell at 5:06 brought the Dons back within five, 52-47. Continuing to whittle the lead down with each possession, a three-pointer from Ryan Beasley with 1:09 left on the game clock brought the green and gold within two points, 58-56.
• Although San Francisco would stay within six points for the remainder of the contest, Bradley dug deep to defend their home court as the Braves survived another triple from Thomas as time expired to pick up a 66-64 victory. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Finishing with a team-high 18 points, Marcus Williams shot 4-of-9 from distance on Wednesday night as the guard also added seven rebounds (tied team-high), one steal and one assist.
• Alongside Williams, Thomas (14 points) and Ryan Beasley (11 points) also finished in double figures. Defensively, Thomas logged three steals against Bradley, marking his ninth performance with two or more steals this season.
• As a team, San Francisco outrebounded Bradley, 40-36, and led the Braves in points in the paint (16-12), second chance points (14-4), fast break points (17-14) and bench points (17-13).

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

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

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will return to the Hilltop this weekend as the Dons will host Montana this Saturday, Dec. 21 in the final nonconference matchup of the regular season for the green and gold. Tipoff from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center is set for 3:00 pm PT as Ben Ross and Ben Braun will have the call on ESPN+ while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on KNBR 1050. Live streaming, radio and live statistics will be 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 - Planet Orange - 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.