SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a battle of the top two teams in the conference, the University of San Francisco men’s basketball team (19-6, 9-3 WCC) picked up its first victory over Saint Mary’s (20-4, 10-1 WCC) since 2019 as the Dons orchestrated a second-half comeback to take down the Gaels, 65-64, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Thursday night.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Saint Mary’s would score the first six points of the evening, but San Francisco got on the board on a three-pointer in the corner from Malik Thomas at 17:40.
Just over two minutes later, Ryan Beasley knocked down a jumper off a SMC turnover to keep the Dons within two points, 9-7.
Subsequently, Saint Mary’s rattled off a 9-2 run to take a17-9 advantage following a hook shot from Ashton Hardaway at 12:31, but San Francisco responded with back-to-back triples to cut it to a two-point game once more, 17-15.
With 7:12 remaining in the first half, Junjie Wang laced a three-pointer of his own from the top of the arc to even things up at 20-all.
Trading baskets in the moments to follow, the Dons took their first lead of the contest, 28-26, when Thomas drove through the Saint Mary’s defense for a tough left-handed layup at the 3:30 mark.
Closing out the half with a 5-1 run, the Gaels used two straight field goals to wrap up the period and hold a five-point advantage, 34-29, at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Marcus Williams converted the first basket of the second half for the green and gold with a layup at 18:09. As San Francisco struggled to keep the momentum rolling, Saint Mary’s answered back with a 5-0 spurt to grow their lead to double digits for the first time, 41-31, after a three-pointer from Augustas Marciulionis at 14:10.
Inching closer, Carlton Linguard Jr. cashed in on an assist from Thomas at 12:23 to trim the USF deficit back to single digits, 43-35. Near the midway mark of the second half, Linguard Jr. banked home a floater to help San Francisco stay on the heels of Saint Mary’s, 52-43.
At 8:58, Williams delivered by nailing a triple of his own to trim the Gael advantage to just six points, 52-46. Two minutes later, the point guard drove through the defense for a layup that made it a three-point game, 54-51.
Turning up the defensive intensity, the Dons then forced another Gael turnover as Tyrone Riley IV netted four straight points to catapult USF in front, 55-54, at 6:22. With 4:54 left on the game clock, a pair of free throws from Beasley put the green and gold up by three, 57-54.
Battling blow for blow down the stretch, neither side found much separation as a hookshot from Williams at 1:49 kept it a four-point game, 63-59, in favor of San Francisco.
Digging deep at the charity stripe with the game on the line, Beasley sank two more free throws to give the Dons a 65-61 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Although Paulius Marauskas would hit a three to bring SMC within one point with 13 seconds left, USF came together for one final stop in the closing moments as San Francisco hung on to defeat Saint Mary’s, 65-64.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Finishing with a team-high 16 points, Williams was tabbed Player of the Game as he shot 2-of-4 from beyond-the-arc while also adding five rebounds and two assists against the Gaels.
Alongside Williams, Beasley (12 points), Linguard Jr. (11 points) and Wang (11 points) all finished in double figures in the win.
On the glass, San Francisco outrebounded Saint Mary’s 38-35 as three Dons grabbed five or more rebounds: Riley IV (9), Linguard Jr. (6) and Williams (5).
As a team, San Francisco led Saint Mary’s in points off turnovers (5-4), fast break points (5-2) and bench points (15-6).
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
San Francisco will head south to Los Angeles next as the Dons are set for a battle at LMU this Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff from Gersten Pavilion is scheduled for 6:00 pm. 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 – Provident Credit Union – 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.
