Dons find rhythm in second half and defeat Lakers at home

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Back in the City by the Bay, the University of San Francisco men’s basketball team (6-2) found its rhythm in the second half Sunday afternoon as the Dons defeated Mercyhurst (5-5) 87-8 . 59, at the War Memorial in the Sobrato Center.

In case you missed it:

• The afternoon begins, Carlton Linguard Jr. On his first shot attempt of the game, the center scored the first two points for both teams just nine seconds after the start of the game.
• As the Lakers keep pace at the start of the ballgame, Malik Thomas hit his first triple of the contest to keep San Francisco ahead 10-7 at 15:38.
• After a jumper from Thomas helped the Dons maintain their lead at 14-10 at 12:53, Bernie Blunt III reeled off nine straight points to give Mercyhurst a 19-17 lead at 9:54. The Lakers continued to press early and extended their lead to five when Shemar Rathan-Mayes sank a free throw at 6:45, completing a three-point play.
• With 2:31 left in the first half, Blunt took advantage of another long-range opportunity to keep Mercyhurst under control 33-28. San Francisco fought back and ended the first twenty minutes of the game with baskets from Linguard Jr. and Tyrone Riley IVbut Mercyhurst remained on top 36-32 heading into the locker room.
• San Francisco flipped the script in the second half, opening with a 12-2 run coming out of the locker room, as the stretch was capped by a dunk from Thomas that put the Dons back ahead 44-36 at the 15:38 mark.
• Rathan-Mayes stayed close, converting a jumper at 14:20 to make it 46-42 in San Francisco’s favor, but the green and gold responded again when a jumper from Thomas at 12:13 gave the Dons a double-digit lead, 55- 44. San Francisco stepped on the gas and didn’t let Mercyhurst get more than nine points the rest of the game.
• Two free throws were missed almost eight minutes before the end of regular time Junjie Wang extended San Francisco’s lead to 20 points, 70-50. As the game progressed, the Dons left nothing on the table as the green and gold underlined their score with a layup Saba Gigiberia to end the competition. San Francisco outscored Mercyhurst 55-22 in the second half and won 87-59 on Sunday afternoon.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:

• As a team, San Francisco had a +16 advantage on the glass as the Dons outrebounded Mercyhurst 37-21. Notably, the Green and Gold are 5-1 and 39-4 below this season Chris Gerlufsen when he overtakes his opponent.

AFTERMATH WITH THE DONS:

NEXT:

San Francisco will remain at home for the second game of a three-game homestand at the Hilltop as the Dons will welcome Saint Louis to the War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for a matchup on Thursday, December 5th at 7:00 p.m. Chris Sylvester and Ben Braun will broadcast the game-time call live on ESPN+, while Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will broadcast the call on KNBR 1050. Live streaming, radio, live stats and ticket links are available via the team’s schedule page.

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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.

WERE:

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SPONSOR THE DONS:

The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to thank our sponsor – San Francisco Toyota – for their continued support of the San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at [email protected] or (415) 422-4561.