Box Score LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Opening postseason play with a statement win, the No. 3 seed University of San Francisco men's basketball team (23-9, 11-5 WCC) led from wire-to-wire against No. 6 seed Portland (12-20, 5-11 WCC), as the Dons dominated the Pilots, 72-51, to advance to their third consecutive WCC Championship semifinal.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Taking immediate control after the opening tip, San Francisco began the game with an 8-0 run through the first 2:19 of the contest, which included two early three-pointers by Marcus Williams.
• After two free throws from Bol Dengdit put the Pilots on the board, a Jonathan Mogbo and-one ignited another 8-0 burst for San Francisco as the Dons went into the first media timeout with a 16-2 lead. Overall, the green and gold started 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond-the-arc.
• Portland's first field goal came at the 14:45 mark via a Vukasin Masic three, but two quick triples from Mike Sharavjamts over the next minute-plus ballooned USF's lead to 22-7.
• Coming out of the 12-minute media timeout, Ndewedo Newbury got into the mix with his first three of the ballgame to begin a 10-0 run for USF as a Mogbo dunk and two jumpers from Malik Thomas followed suit to expand the Dons' lead to 23 points, 32-9, at the 8:06 mark.
• Putting an end San Francisco's run, back-to-back Portland threes from Dengdit and Masic trimmed the lead to 32-15 at 4:51.
• Ending a three-plus minute USF scoring drought, Marcus Williams cashed in his third three-pointer of the first half at the 4:32 mark. A minute later, Newbury hit his second three of the night to put the Dons back in control, 38-15, with 3:31 remaining.
• Closing out a near perfect half for the green and gold, Mogbo hit a spot up jumper with the shot clock expiring to end the period as the Dons took a 23-point advantage, 42-19, into the break.
• San Francisco began the second half with an 8-3 run, which was punctuated by a Thomas and-one to push USF's lead to 50-22 just two minutes into the period.
• Putting pressure on the Dons, the Pilots responded with an 8-0 run of their own, with two threes coming courtesy of Tyler Robertson, to cut the deficit down to 50-30 at 16:43.
• Keeping their distance, Marcus Williams helped the green and gold stay in charge with a reverse lay up at 14:54 to push the score to 52-30 in favor of San Francisco.
• Nine straight points via buckets from Williams, Mogbo, and Robby Beasley then gave the Dons a 29-point lead at 10:12 with the score at 62-33 halfway through the final period.
• San Francisco continued to dominate throughout the final ten minutes, with the lead growing to as much as 30, as the Dons took down Portland for the third time this season by a final score of 72-51.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• In a balanced effort, four of the Dons starters scored in double figures tonight, marking the 20^th time this season that four San Francisco players have scored 10 or more points in a game (17-3 record).
• Individually, Williams led the way with 16 points, on 6-of-8 shooting and four made threes, along with a team-high +27 plus/minus. Rounding out the backcourt, Sharavjamts and Thomas scored 10 and 12 points, respectively, each shooting 4-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep.
• Not far behind Williams in the scoring column was Newbury, who totaled 13 points and six rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting and three makes from distance, as he earned Player of the Game honors for his efforts.
• Coming close to yet another double-double, Mogbo put up nine points and eight rebounds in a team-high 28 minutes of action.
• Notably, the 19 first half points by Portland is the fewest points allowed by San Francisco in any half this season.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To watch the full postgame interview with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, Jonathan Mogbo and Marcus Williams, please click here.

UP NEXT:
Tonight's win for the green and gold sends the Dons to the WCC Championship semifinals for the third consecutive year as three-seed USF will face two-seed Gonzaga on Monday, Mar. 11 in an 8:30 p.m. contest at Orleans Arena. The semifinal game will air live on ESPN2 with Dave Flemming and Corey Williams on the call. The contest will also air live on KNBR 1050 with Pat Olsen and Jim Brovelli on the call. 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 - Planet Orange - 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.