University of San Francisco Athletics

Complete USF Game Notes

Game #10
USF Dons (5-4, 0-0 WCC) vs.
San Diego State Aztecs (9-1, 0-0 Mountain West)
Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
Stan Sheriff Center • Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 • 1:00 p.m. HT/3:00 p.m. PT
Series Record: Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting: San Diego State, 62-56 (Dec. 21, 2010)
Radio: USFDons.com/live (Pat Olson, Play-by-Play; Jim Brovelli, Analyst)
TV/Web: ESPNU (Kanoa Leahey and Sean Farnham)

Dons Briefs

• Now 5-4 after Tuesday night's 73-63 home loss to Holy Cross...Dons have now lost three straight following a five-game winning streak.
• Face 18th-ranked San Diego State in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Saturday in Honolulu...Arizona, East Tennessee State, Indiana State, Hawaii, Miami (Fla.) and Ole Miss round out the field.
• Winner of the USF-San Diego State game will draw winner of Ole Miss-Indiana State contest on Sunday at  12 noon HT...losers meet at 10:00 a.m.
• USF is in a stretch that will see the team play six games in a span of 12 days.
• Team is shooting just 38.0 percent (62-for-163) from the field over last three games after a run of four straight contests shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
• Shooting 61.4 percent from the free throw line -- last in the WCC.
• Have been outrebounded in each of the last four games vs. St. John's, Pacific, Nevada and Holy Cross after outboarding their first five opponents to start the season.
• Are 7-for-35 (20.0 percent) from three-point range over last two game and now rank fourth in the WCC in three-point percentage at 38.3 percent.
• Allowing just 64.1 points a game and rank third among WCC teams in scoring defense.
• Junior Cole Dickerson tops the nation in rebound average (13.1) while De'End Parker ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (59.3; 16-27).
• Three players are averaging double-figures, led by De'End Parker's 15.4 ppg average...Cole Dickerson is scoring at a 13.8 ppg clip while junior point guard Cody Doolin is averaging 11.7 ppg.
• Dickerson has posted five double-doubles in nine games this season, including his last time out vs. Holy Cross (17-17).
• Point guard Cody Doolin -- who dished out a career-high 14 assists vs. St. John's -- ranks 15th nationally in assists per game at 6.3...he has 306 career assists which ranks seventh all-time on USF's career chart.
• The Dons are 39-24 (.619) in their last 63 games following a 5-9 start to the 2010-11 season.
• USF is 67-70 in five seasons under head coach Rex Walters...his career record, which includes two seasons at Florida Atlantic, now stands at 98-103.

USF Joins Field at Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
USF (5-4, 0-0 WCC) will meet 18th-ranked San Diego State (9-1, 0-0 WAC) in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center at the University of Hawaii. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. HT and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.
The Dons have lost three straight after Tuesday night's 73-63 setback against Holy Cross, while the Aztecs have won nine straight following a season-opening loss to third-ranked Syracuse.
The winner of USF-San Diego State will face either Ole Miss or Indiana State on Sunday at 12 noon, while the losers will meet at 10:00 a.m.

USF-San Diego State Series
USF and San Diego State have met four times previously, with each team winning two games.
The two teams last met on Dec. 21, 2010, with the 7th-ranked Aztecs earning a hard-fought, 62-56 decision at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. Michael Williams had 16 points to pace the Dons while Angelo Caloiaro and Perris Blackwell added 14 each.
USF and San Diego State first met on Dec. 29, 1954, with the Dons scoring a 70-56 victory, the sixth win in USF's historic 60-game winning streak that produced back-to-back NCAA Championships.
The two teams also met in consecutive seasons in 1978-79 and 1979-80. The Aztecs upset 17th-ranked USF, 77-75 on Dec. 5, 1978 in Memorial Gymnasium, but the Dons returned the favor the following season with a 99-71 victory on Dec. 22 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

USF vs. Hawaiian Airlines Field
USF has never met Indiana State, Ole Miss or East Tennessee State and has brief histories with Arizona (4-1), Hawaii (9-4) and Miami (Fla.) (1-2).

Like Father, Like Son
Saturday's game against San Diego State features a father-son match-up, as USF's Director of Player Personnel Dwayne Polee will watch his son, Dwayne Polee II perform for the Aztecs.
Dwayne, Sr. was a two-time WCC Player of the Year at Pepperdine after an outstanding prep career at Manual Arts High School, where he was named Los Angeles' City Section Player of the Year in 1981.
Dwayne, Jr. was also named Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year following his senior year at Westchester High School.
The Polees were the second father-son combination to win the award, following Marques (1973) and Kris Johnson (1993).

Last Time Out: Holy Cross 73, USF 63 • Dec. 18, 2012 • San Francisco, Calif.
USF suffered its first home loss of the season on Tuesday, dropping a 73-63 decision to Holy Cross in Memorial Gymnasium.
It was the Dons third straight loss following a five-game winning streak.
Dave Dudzinski scored a game-high 31 points to pace the Crusaders.
Cody Doolin's 18-point topped all USF scorers, while Cole Dickerson recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 17 rebounds. De'End Parker added 10 points.
The Crusaders led virtually wire-to-wire, taking their first lead at the 16:58 mark of the first half.
The Dons shot 37 percent from the floor and were outrebounded, 41-34.

Busy Stretch
USF is currently in a stretch that will see the Dons play six games in a span of 12 days. After Tuesday's home game against Holy Cross, USF will travel to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic where the Dons will face San Diego State on Dec. 22. The Dons will also see action on Dec. 23 and 25th against opponents to be determined.
The flurry of activity will end on Dec. 29 when the Dons play host to Dominican University.
The Dons will open West Coast Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Santa Clara.

Winning Ways
USF is 39-24 (.619) in their last 63 games following a 5-9 start to the 2010-11 season. USF has also made back-to-back postseason appearances under Rex Walters, competing in the CIT in 2010-11 and the CBI last season.
Last season, the Dons finished with an overall record of 20-14, marking the program's first 20-win season since 1981-82 (25-6).

Walters Closing in on 100th Career Win
USF's 5-4 start has improved head coach Rex Walters' seven-year career record to 98-103 while his five-year USF coaching record stands at 67-70.

Leaders in Their Field
Three USF players -- Cole Dickerson, De'End Parker and Cody Doolin -- rank in the top-15 nationally in various statistical categories.
Dickerson leads the nation in rebounding, averaging 13.1 boards a game, just ahead of Siena's O.D. Anosike (13.0).
Parker ranks fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage, as the junior two-guard is shooting 59.3 percent (16-for-27) from beyond the arc after nine games.
Doolin is averaging 6.5 assists per game, which ranks 15th among the national leaders.

Running Hot and Cold
USF is shooting just 38.0 percent (62-for-163) over its last three games against Pacific (22-for-52), Nevada (17-for-50) and Holy Cross (23-for-61), following a four-game stretch in which the Dons shot 50 percent or better from the floor vs. American, Columbia, Montana and St. John's.
The Dons shot 45.3 percent (43-for-95) from three-point range over their first six games -- tops in the nation -- but have managed to shoot just 27.1 percent (16-for-59) from long distance in the last three games vs. Pacific (9-24). Nevada (2-15) and Holy Cross (5-20).
USF ranks eighth in the WCC in field goal percentage (44.1) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (38.3).

Board Work
After outrebounding its first five opponents by a margin of 11.4 boards a game, USF has been outrebounded by a margin of 39.7 to 29.7 (-10.0) in each of its last four contests vs. St. John's (34-37), Pacific (25-36), Nevada (30-45) and Holy Cross (34-41).
Cole Dickerson leads in the nation in rebounding with a 13.1 per game average and accounts for 36 percent (118 of 328) of the team's rebounding total.

From the Line
USF is shooting just 61.4 percent (124-for-202) from the foul line, which is the lowest percentage among WCC teams. Cody Doolin (36-43) and Tao Xu (13-19) have combined to shoot 81.1 percent (49-62) while the rest of the team is shooting 53.5 percent (75-for-140) from the line.

Defense
The Dons rank third in the WCC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.1 points a game.
After giving up a season-high 74 points to Stanford in the season-opener, USF has held seven of its last eight opponents under 70 points, including four under 60.

Dickerson Doubling Down
Cole Dickerson is averaging a double-double nine games into the 2012-13 campaign, as the junior forward from Federal Way, Wash. is scoring 13.6 points and grabbing 13.1 rebounds per game.
Dickerson has posted five double-doubles in nine games this season against Stanford (11-19), Cal State-East Bay (14-15), Columbia (10-14), Montana (19-20) and Holy Cross (17-17). His non-double-double games came against American (20-6), St. John's (6-8), Pacific (14-9) and Nevada (11-9).
The last USF player to average 10 or more rebounds for an entire season was Darrell Tucker in 2001-02. Darryl Johnson also accomplished the feat in 1991-92 when he led the WCC with an 11.4 rebound average.
Dickerson also posted double-doubles in both exhibition games against San Francisco State (21-15) and UNC-Pemboke (24-10).
Dickerson averaged 7.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg in 34 games last season, including one start.

Parker Tops Dons Scoring Column
Junior guard De'End Parker leads USF in scoring afer nine games with a 15.4 per game average, which ranks eighth among all WCC players.
Parker was averaging 19.6 points a game after the first six contests, which included a career-high 31-point effort against Columbia, but has been held to just 21 points in the last three games against Pacific (7), Nevada (4) and Holy Cross (10).
Parker ranks fourth the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 59.3 (16-for-27) and is shooting 43.0 percent (49-114) overall from the floor. However, he has made just 7-of-30 shots from the floor over the last three games, including 1-for-7 from three-point range.
De'End grew up two blocks from the USF campus and attended Lincoln High School and City College of San Francisco before spending one season at UCLA.

Doolin Climbing USF's Career Assist Chart
Junior point guard Cody Doolin ranks second the WCC and 15th nationally in assists per game (6.5). With 29 assists in his last four games, Doolin's career assist total now stands at 306, which ranks seventh on USF's all-time list. He needs 14 more dimes to tie Chubby Cox (1976-78) for sixth all-time at 320.
Doolin currently ranks seventh in the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0; 52-26). For his career, Doolin has a 2.1 assist (306) to turnover (144) ratio.

Debuts
Eight players have made their USF debuts this season, including freshmen Tim Derksen, Coltin Gelb, Matt Christiansen, Avry Holmes, Tao Xu and redshirt freshman Mark Tollefsen.
De'End Parker, who spent last year at UCLA and Frank Rogers, who played at Cabrillo College, have also made their USF debuts this season.