SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - In a Saturday night thriller on the Hilltop, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (20-6, 9-2 WCC) overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Santa Clara (15-10, 6-4 WCC) in a raucous War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• San Francisco and Santa Clara exchanged baskets through the first seven minutes of action, with a steal and layup from Malik Thomas at 13:10 putting the Dons in front 14-11.
• Santa Clara turned on the jets following the Thomas layup as the Broncos strung together a 22-0 run over the next six minutes, scoring on all of the following 10 possessions to take over 33-14 at 7:06.
• Making an instant impact off the bench, Volodymyr Markovetskyy ended SCU's run with a layup at 6:43 following an assist from Marcus Williams. Subsequently, a layup by Junjie Wang and two jumpers from Mike Sharavjamts helped shrink the Bronco lead to 36-23 at 3:37.
• USF closed out the first half with a 6-0 run via four free throws from Thomas and a Robby Beasley layup to nearly trim the Santa Clara lead in half as the Dons headed into the locker room down by ten points, 39-29.
• Out of the break, a Christoph Tilly jumper at 17:44 put the Broncos up 44-33, but USF quickly fought back with a 9-2 run of their own, which was punctuated by a Ryan Beasley three-pointer off a Mogbo steal to cut the deficit to four, 46-42, at 13:49.
• Following suit, Sharavjamts cashed in a huge three-pointer with 8:25 remaining to make it a one possession ballgame, 55-53. However, Santa Clara extended its lead right away, responding on an 8-2 run, including five points from O'Neil, to balloon its advantage back up to eight, 63-55 with 3:27 to play.
• As both teams were in the double bonus, the two schools exchanged free throws over the next two minutes, with the Broncos holding a 68-61 lead with 1:25 seconds left in the game.
• Initiating a comeback, Jonathan Mogbo converted on an and-one off a missed Ryan Beasley layup at 1:14 to cut the lead to four, 68-64. After a timeout from SCU, Sharavjamts forced an O'Neil travel to get USF the ball back with 1:09 remaining. In turn, Mogbo converted on a layup to bring the green and gold within two, 68-66 with 53.4 seconds to play.
• At the other end of the floor, Christian Hammond missed a jumper after milking 25 seconds off the game clock, but the green and gold could not corral the rebound, as the Dons had to commit a foul to stop the clock with 21.9 seconds remaining. Jake Ensminger hit both free throws for the Broncos, pushing the lead to two possessions, 70-66.
• Saving their final timeout, Ryan Beasley quickly went the length of the floor for San Francisco to draw a shooting foul on Hammond with 15.9 seconds to play. Beasley then hit both free throws to cut it back to a two-point game, 70-68.
• Out of a Santa Clara timeout, Mogbo pulled off a crucial stop for the Dons, knocking the ball away from Ensminger. While Mogbo grabbed the loose ball, the forward was fouled by Ensminger as the reigning WCC Player of the Week went to the line with a chance to tie the game.
• Mogbo cashed in on the first free throw but missed the second off the back of the rim. However, Sharavjamts corralled the offensive rebound and with four seconds left, the guard pulled up for a foul line jumper to take the lead. The shot was off, but Mogbo nabbed another offensive rebound for the green and gold and was fouled on a putback attempt as he headed to the line with a shot at two free throws to give the Dons the lead with 1.4 remaining, trailing 70-69.
• Shooting the most crucial free throws of USF's season so far, Mogbo splashed both free throws to give the Dons a 71-70 lead with just over a second left on the clock.
• On the last play, Ensminger threw a full court pass to Francisco Caffaro, who shoveled the ball to Tyeree Bryan for a clean foul line jumper to win the game for the Broncos. Falling just short, San Francisco escaped with a 71-70 win as the Dons capped off the night with a 10-2 run in the final 85 seconds. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• After not attempting a shot in the first half, Mogbo was named Player of the Game after tallying all 16 of his points in the second period. Going 8-of-9 from the foul line, including the game-winning free throws, Mogbo also tied a season-high with five steals in the win as four came specifically in the second half.
• Leading San Francisco in scoring, Malik Thomas got back on track with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line.
• In 32 minutes of action, Sharavjamts had his best game of WCC play so far with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Notably, his 14 points and 32 minutes are both the most he has totaled in a single game in conference action this season.
• Rounding out the double-figure scorers, Beasley scored 11 points in 22 minutes off the bench, including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
• Additionally, Justin Bieker led the Dons in plus/minus at +11 in five minutes on the floor.
• As a squad, USF shot 28-of-32 on free throws, the most made free throws in a game by the Dons since Jan. 10, 2015, when the green and gold also went 28-of-32 from the stripe in a win against Portland. The 28 free throws also tie the season-high for single-game free throws made by any WCC team this campaign.
• The green and gold won their second consecutive contest against Santa Clara following a double-overtime thriller in the WCC Tournament quarterfinals last season. Overall, USF claimed its first regular season victory over the Broncos since Feb. 12, 2022.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen and Jonathan Mogbo, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will have next Thursday off as the Dons will return to the hardwood next Saturday, Feb. 17 when the green and gold head south to LMU for a 7:00 pm battle. 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 - Corona - 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.