Feb. 11, 2008

Final Stats

San Francisco) - USF battled but San Diego executed down the stretch, seizing a 73-62 West Coast Conference victory Monday night at War Memorial Gym. The Dons (6-18, 2-7 WCC) drop their third straight, while the Toreros (14-11, 7-1 WCC) continue to roll.

Brandon Johnson scored six of his 18 points in the final three minutes as USD stayed close to front-running Gonzaga and St. Mary's in the crowded WCC race. Gyno Pomare added 18 points and five rebounds for the Toreros, who won their sixth straight despite a sloppy offensive performance in the first half when the team missed 9-of-10 3-pointers and committed nine turnovers.

San Diego tightened up its game in the second half, however, and rode the scoring from Johnson and a stingy defense that held USF to one basket during a key five-minute stretch late in the game.

Dior Lowhorn had 17 points and Dean Hadley scored a career-high 12 for USF.

The game marked the Dons' first appearance in USF since notching interim coach Eddie Sutton's 800th career victory with a come-from-behind win at Pepperdine on Feb. 2. The Dons haven't won since, losing by five to Loyola Marymount before getting blown out by No. 23 St. Mary's.

Before the game against San Diego, USF honored Sutton with a plaque commemorating win No. 800 along with a ball signed by his current players. Little else went right for Sutton or USF the rest of the night, though.

USF fell behind by 10 points six minutes into the game and failed to take advantage of San Diego's poor shooting in the first half. The Toreros, who were 1-for-11 on 3-pointers in a 46-41 win over the Dons on Jan. 12, missed their first nine 3s in the rematch and didn't score from beyond the arc until Chris Lewis' trey with 53 seconds remained.

But San Diego owns the conference's stingiest defense and smothered USF sophomore Dior Lowhorn underneath the basket every time the WCC's leading scorer got the ball down low. Lowhorn went 4 of 9 in the first half and was 0-for-5 from the free throw line, then was held scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the second half.

San Diego led 25-20 at halftime and was ahead 59-53 with under five minutes remaining when Johnson helped the Toreros pull away. Named Player of the Month for January, Johnson scored on a driving lay-in and added three free throws, the last of which gave San Diego a 14-point lead.

USF returns to action Saturday, February 16 when it hosts league-leading Gonzaga in a game televised live on ESPNU. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for 5:00 PM at War Memorial Gym and is the centerpiece in the USF 2008 Homecoming Weekend.