SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco outscored HBU 26-4 in a 5:50 stretch from the end of the first half into the beginning of the second half as the Dons went on to an 85-54 victory over HBU in non-conference basketball Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Gymnasium.
Sophomore forward
Reveal Chukwujekwu and senior guard
Marcel Smith had 10 points each to lead the Huskies (3-3), while senior guard
Tyler Russell added eight. Freshman center
Josh Ibarra led HBU with eight rebounds, and senior center
Ricmonds Vilde had six. The Huskies' leading scorer,
Colter Lasher, was held to just two points as he fouled out in only 13 minutes on the floor.
Devin Watson led USF (5-3) with 14 points, Tim Derksen and Mark Tollefsen had 12 apiece, and Kruize Pinkins had 11. Matt Christiansen had five rebounds to lead the Dons on the glass.
HBU was held to a season-low 31.4 percent from the field, 3-for-11 from 3-point range, and went 19-for-30 from the line, while USF shot 55.6 percent from the field, 8-for-14 from long distance, and 27-for-39 from the line. The Huskies were outrebounded for the first time this season, 33-32, and there were 56 fouls whistled on the two teams, including 30 on the Huskies, which had three players foul out.
USF broke an early tie by scoring five-straight after a pair of free throws by Glover to lead 10-5 with 11:39 remaining. A three-point play by Tollefson put the Dons up by seven, but Vilde answered by powering inside for back-to-back baskets.
Chris Adams hit the first three of the game for either side at the 7:20 mark, and Derrell Robertson finished a three-point play as the Dons led 19-10 with just over six minutes to go. The Huskies responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead, as sophomore forward
Alex Fountain got it going by burying a three from the corner, Russell sank a pair of free throws, sophomore center
Cody Stetler made one-of-two, Fountain drilled a three from the top of the circle and Chukwujekwu made one-of-two as HBU led 20-19 with 3:28 left.
The lead was short-lived as Derksen made a layup for the Dons on the other end, but Chukwujekwu once again made one-of-two to knot it back up at 21. Glover drove inside for a bucket, Tollefsen tipped in a missed free throw, Derksen made a three and Tollefsen followed another miss with a tip-in as USF took a 30-21 lead. Smith sunk a baseline floater with 12 seconds remaining, but Glover beat the buzzer with a three to give the Dons a 33-23 advantage at the break.
HBU shot 33.3 percent from the field, made 2-of-7 from behind the arc, and 7-of-12 from the free-throw line, while USF shot 48.0 percent, 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and 6-of-12 from the stripe in the first half. Fountain led the Huskies with six points, while Tollefsen had eight for the Dons at halftime.
The Dons opened the second half with a 14-2 run, including the first seven points, which was capped by a Derksen three. A Vilde tip-in got the Huskies on the board, but USF scored seven more when Derksen threw up a wild banker off the glass, Pinkins hit a three and Derksen finished a fast break with a layup to extend the Dons' lead to 47-25.
Russell knocked down a 17-footer and Chukwujekwu went inside for a layup to stop that surge, but Watson and Adams started another with back-to-back threes, giving USF a 57-30 lead with 12:43 left. The Dons led by 28 at the 11:46 mark, but a six-point spurt by the Huskies cut the deficit to 20 with just under five minutes on the clock. From there, USF closed the game by outscoring HBU, 17-6.
The Huskies will return to action after finals week, when they host Arlington Baptist Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym, following the women's game also against Arlington Baptist.
