Dazzling Duo Drives Dons to Decisive Tenth Victory

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Defending their home court before the holiday recess, the University of San Francisco men’s basketball squad (10-3) held firm late to secure their tenth victory of the season on Saturday afternoon as the Dons triumphed over Montana (7-6), 71-67, at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IF YOU MISSED IT:

• After Montana netted the initial four points of the afternoon, San Francisco found the scoreboard with a three-pointer from Malik Thomas at 17:36. Moments later, the Dons took their earliest lead of the contest when Marcus Williams connected on a jumper at 15:19 to put the green and gold ahead, 7-6.
• Gaining confidence as the game progressed, San Francisco executed a 12-2 run at the middle of the first half to widen their lead to double digits, 22-12.
• Continuing to broaden their offensive gap, a couple of free throws from Thomas with 5:48 to go in the first half increased the lead to 28-14 in favor of the Dons.
• Narrowing the gap in the last minutes of the first half, Montana brought it to a seven-point game, 33-26, after a fastbreak layup from Joe Pridgen with 39 seconds left. However, the green and gold answered back as a three-pointer from Ryan Beasley with six seconds remaining allowed San Francisco to regain a double-figure advantage, 36-26, at halftime.
• Emerging from the locker room, three consecutive triples from Williams, Tyrone Riley IV and Thomas kept the Dons in command during the opening minutes of the second half.
• Taking advantage of openings in the Grizzly defense, Williams increased the lead with another jumper at 14:44, putting San Francisco up by fourteen points, 51-37.
• Resisting on every possession, Montana made a strong push as the Grizzlies reduced their deficit to single digits, 56-47, thanks to a three-pointer from Te’Jon Sawyer with 8:59 left in regulation.
• In the following five minutes, Montana came within three points, 65-62, when Pridgen made a layup with 3:07 on the clock. Although their free throw shooting wasn’t flawless, San Francisco managed to respond by sinking crucial shots at the charity stripe to finish the game.
• As Pridgen kept the Grizzlies in the game with a dunk with eleven seconds left, Saba Gigiberia secured a defensive rebound with under eight seconds remaining but subsequently missed both free throws.
• Executing one final defensive stand, San Francisco thwarted any last-minute comeback attempts as the Dons clinched a 71-67 victory over Montana on Saturday afternoon.

SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCES:

• Leading the charge offensively, Williams was honored as Player of the Game after finishing with a season-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. Additionally, the guard contributed five rebounds and three assists while matching his season-high with 36 minutes on the court.
• Scoring in double digits with Williams, Riley IV and Thomas both concluded the game with 17 points as they shot a combined 10-of-22 from the field and 7-of-11 from three-point range. Importantly, Riley IV recorded a team-high seven rebounds while Thomas was among three Dons to register a steal in the victory.
• As a collective unit, San Francisco outperformed Montana in points off turnovers (8-6) and second-chance points (10-6) while limiting the Grizzlies to 23.5 percent (4-17) from beyond the arc. This marks the seventh instance this season the Dons have held their rivals to under 30.0 percent from three-point distance.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

UPCOMING:
San Francisco will take the holiday break to recuperate as the Dons are set to return to the court for West Coast Conference action on Saturday, Dec. 28 when they host LMU at the Hilltop. The tipoff at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM, with Ben Ross and Ben Braun calling the action on ESPN+, while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will be on KNBR 1050. Live streaming, radio coverage, live statistics, and ticket links can be found on the team’s schedule page.
 
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SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to recognize and express gratitude to our sponsor – Twenty Five Ventures – for their ongoing support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in backing the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.