SAN DIEGO – Shooting 61.8% (34-55) from the field, San Francisco (15-9, 4-5 WCC) defeated the University of San Diego men's basketball team (10-13, 3-6 WCC) on Saturday, 94-81.
Fifth year guard
Marcellus Earlington led San Diego with 24 points (9-of-15 FG) and 10 rebounds. He has scored 86 points over the last three games (28.7 average).
Fifth year guard
Jase Townsend added 21 points in the loss, including 15 in the second half.
Graduate guard
Eric Williams Jr. registered 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals, shooting 3-of-5 from long range.
Junior
Sigu Sisoho Jawara was USD's fourth double-digit scorer at 12 points. He went 6-of-7 from the free throw line and added three rebounds and three assists.
USD drops to 10-13 (3-6 WCC) on the season, and will host Portland next Thursday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first handful of minutes were tightly contested, as USD led 17-16 with 13:40 left. Earlington knocked down two triples, but San Francisco made seven of its first nine field goal attempts.
- USD used a 5-0 run followed by a 7-0 run, with all points coming from Earlington, to take a 29-18 lead midway through the first.
- Jawara ended a 7-0 San Francisco run with a baseline jumper. A Williams triple and a Townsend jumper kept USD's lead at six, but the Dons answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead.
- San Francisco knocked down two triples in the last two minutes, and led 46-42 at halftime.
- A 9-0 Dons run propelled them to a 15-point lead early in the second half. Earlington ended the spurt with another triple to get to 20 points.
- Townsend hit a corner triple followed by two Williams Jr. free throws to chop the deficit to 11 with 10:47 left. He later scored seven straight points in less than a minute. With 6:11 to play, USD trailed 77-66.
- San Francisco sealed the win at the line, as 11 of its last 17 points came on free throws.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Earlington increased his scoring average to 16.9 points, which leads the team and ranks fifth in the WCC.
- Williams Jr. leads the conference with 9.7 rebounds per game.
- Townsend scored in double figures for the 15th time in 19 games.
- The Dons held a 44-22 advantage in the paint.
- San Diego ended 19-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line.
- There were seven ties in the contest. USF led for 22:43, while USD led for 13:33.
UP NEXT
USD will remain home to face Portland on Thursday. The teams met on January 19, when the Pilots earned an 88-83 victory. Earlington registered 32 points in the loss.
