SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Getting back in the win column at home on the Hilltop, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (14-4, 4-1) took care of business against Portland (5-13, 0-5 WCC) on Thursday night as the Dons downed the Pilots, 81-72, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After Portland scored the first two baskets of the evening, Junjie Wang got San Francisco on the board on a jumper in the paint at 17:26.
• Trading points to start things out, San Francisco evened the game at 8-all when Marcus Williams knocked down a jumper at 15:34 following a Pilot turnover.
• As the half moved along, each team struggled to find their identity on offense, but four straight points from the green and gold near the midway mark put the Dons on top, 14-10, at 10:58. Just over one minute later, Carlton Linguard Jr. nailed a hook shot in the post to make it a six-point game in favor of USF, 18-12.
• Although the Dons would remain in control, Portland continued to fight as the Pilots stayed on the heels of San Francisco. With 4:37 left in the first half, a second-chance layup from Chris Austin made it a one-point contest, 24-23.
• Taking it into his own hands, Malik Thomas closed out the opening twenty minutes of play by scoring the final seven points of the half as the Dons held on to maintain a six-point advantage at the break, 37-31.
• Coming out of the locker room, the green and gold netted the first seven points of the second half, which included five consecutive points from Linguard Jr. to put USF up by thirteen, 44-31, at 18:03.
• Inching closer, Portland trimmed their deficit to single digits, 44-35, following a three-pointer from Max Mackinnon at 16:17, but Jason Rivera-Torres quickly returned the blow with a triple of his own to extend San Francisco's lead to twelve, 47-35, just thirteen seconds later.
• Near the midway mark of the second half, the Pilots scored two straight baskets to cut it to seven, 57-50, with 9:39 remaining in regulation. However, the Dons would bounce back and find separation again as a dunk from Linguard Jr. with 5:30 left on the game clock helped the green and gold go back up by double digits, 71-59.
• Defending their home court down the stretch, San Francisco would not let Portland come within more than nine points in the final minutes of the game as the Dons went on to secure an 81-72 victory over the Pilots on Thursday night.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Earning his first Player of the Game honor this season, Linguard Jr. was efficient against Portland as the graduate transfer finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist on 6-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond-the-arc.
• Alongside Linguard Jr., Thomas (19 points), Williams (17 points) and Wang (14 points) also finished in double figures. For Wang, the forward finished with a new career-high in points for the second straight contest.
• As a team, San Francisco led Portland in points off turnovers (16-11), second chance points (16-10), fast break points (4-3) and bench points (9-4).

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's game, please click here.
• To view the full postgame with head coach Chris Gerlufsen, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Carlton Linguard Jr. and Marcus Williams, please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco will head to the South Bay this Saturday, Jan. 11 as the Dons are scheduled for a rematch with Santa Clara. Tipoff is set for 4:00 pm PT as Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will have the call on KNBR 1050 live from Leavey Center. 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 - 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.