SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball program trimmed a 14-point second half deficit down to four in the final minute, but San Francisco held on for a 79-73 decision Saturday at War Memorial at The Sobrato Center.
A career-night came from junior
Cam Denson as he poured in a game-high 22 points for the Tigers (6-18, 0-9 WCC). He was 7-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
USF (18-6, 7-2 WCC) led for most of the way but Pacific made it interesting at the end. The Dons were up 75-64 with 36 seconds left when the Tigers came storming back to make it a 77-73 game with seven seconds, but USF made free throws to scrape by.
In addition to Denson, senior
Lesown Hallums, Jr. turned in a big night with 17 points off the bench. He was 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond-the-arc. Sophomore
Makai Richards and sophomore
Moe Odum pitched in with eight points apiece.
The Tigers posted a positive turnover margin of 16-13. Freshman
Tan Yildizoglu made his presence defensively with a career-high four steals, while Hallums grabbed three steals. It came after USF entered the night leading the WCC in turnover margin.
USF garnered a 20-point performance from Marcus Williams. Jonathan Mogbo finished with a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The score was tied 4-4 early after a big dunk by Richards. The Tigers trailed 13-12 at the 11:24 mark after a three by Hallums.
After the Dons went up 17-12, Pacific answered with a 7-0 run as Richards made back-to-back field goals and Hallums hit a three to go up 19-17 with 6:49 remaining.
USF made a big push late in the first half to jump ahead 32-23 with 1:46 to go. Though, Pacific responded with back-to-back old fashion three-point plays by Denson to trim it to 32-29. The Dons scored the final bucket of the frame to lead 34-29 at the intermission.
A three by senior
Nick Blake cut the deficit to 38-36 with 16:44 left in the second. The Tigers trailed just 40-38 when the Dons rallied with a 12-0 spurt to push their advantage up to 52-38 at the 13:27 mark.
Pacific didn't go away as an and-one by Denson made it 56-48 with 11:13 to go. A pair of free throws by Denson further chipped into it a 58-52 with 8:52 remaining.
The Tigers continued to fight as a lay-up by Hallums changed it to 66-58 with 5:36 left.
In the final minute, a steal and fast break lay-up by Hallums made it 71-64. A lay-in by senior
Judson Martindale trimmed it to 75-69 with 24 seconds, and a free throw by Odum cut it to 75-70 with 15 seconds.
After two free throws by USF, Denson raced down the floor and scored a bucket plus the foul to change it to 77-73 with 7.0 seconds. However, two more free throws by the Dons closed it out.
The Tigers will be back at home Tuesday when they host Saint Mary's at 8 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Pacific is 804-448 all-time at home and 341-215 in the Spanos Center.
NOTES
- Pacific and San Francisco is a matchup that dates back to 1911-12, and both schools are charter members of the West Coast Conference when the league began in 1952.
- Pacific has posted a positive turnover margin in seven of nine WCC games this year.
- Denson surpassed his previous career-high of 16 points set three times, with the last coming against Portland on Jan. 6. His eight free throws made were a career-best. He drew seven fouls in the contest for his 16th career double-digit scoring game and 12th this year.
- It was the second time Hallums turned in a big performance against USF this year. In the first meeting, he drained a career-high 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Tonight, Hallums registered his 21st career double-figure scoring game and eighth this year.
- Odum entered the game ranked second in the conference in assists (4.8 apg) and dished out five.
- Pacific was without senior
Donovan Williams who averages team-highs of 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in conference.
- The Tigers used their 12th different starting lineup in 24 games this year.
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