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SAN FRANCISCO – USF built as much as a 25-point lead in the first half against Santa Clara and hung on for dear life down the end to post a 61-58 over the Broncos Thursday night on the Hilltop.
 
After taking a 44-24 lead into the break, USF was outscored 34-17 after intermission and held its collective breath as Jared Brownridge misfired on a potential game-tying three-pointer as time expired.
 
The win - the Dons' fourth in a row - improves USF's record to 18-8 overall and 8-5 in the West Coast Conference, while the Broncos slip to 13-13 and 7-6 in conference action. The Dons moved into a tie with BYU for third place in the WCC standings after the Cougars were upset tonight by Pepperdine.
 
USF and BYU square off Saturday night on the Hilltop beginning at 8:00 p.m.
 
Matt McCarthy led all USF scorers with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. The sophomore also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Frankie Ferrari and Jordan Ratinho finished with nine points while Charles Minlend and Mladen Djordjevic added eight. Ferrari's nine points came on three first half three-pointers.
 
Sophomore KJ Feagin scored a game-high 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, including four three-pointers. Brownridge finished with 15 points, with 14 coming in the second half.
 
After shooting 50 percent and making eight three-pointers in the first half, USF cooled down to 34.8 percent in the second period and went 0-for-8 from distance.
 
The Dons never trailed in the game in picking up their 18th win of the season.
 
 
"A win is a win," said USF head coach Kyle Smith. "We led for 40 minutes and were able to hang on at the end for a huge win. That's what matters. Winning is hard."
 
From the opening tip, USF seemed eager to make amends for its 14-point loss to Santa Clara on New Year's Eve. The Dons held the Broncos scoreless for the first 4:40 of the game and raced out to a 10-point lead at 14-4. USF's lead grew to 20 points at 27-7 when Ferrari canned his third three-pointer with 8:09 left in the first half.
 
The Dons largest lead was 25 points at 44-19 with 1:35 before the break but the Broncos scored the last five points of the half to go into the locker room trailing 44-24.
 
Nothing came easy for USF after intermission but the Dons still held a 15-point lead at 57-42 with 6:24 remaining.
 
Things then got interesting. Santa Clara went on a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 59-58 after Feagin drilled his fourth three-pointer of the night.
 
However, it was Chase Foster's driving, off-balance shot with :44 left that accounted for the final, 61-58 score.
 
Following Foster's make, Santa Clara still had plenty of time left, but a turnover by Brownridge and two missed free throws by Matt Hauser down the stretch helped USF gain a split in the season series with its long-time rival.
 
"They pressured and extended a little bit more defensively in the second half but I think we still got plenty of good looks," said Smith. "I was really concerned with Brownridge having just one point at half because he's just too good of a player. It was just a matter of time before he got going.
 
"We played what I thought was our best first half of the season but credit Santa Clara for coming back. They are tough."
 
USF will now turn its attention to BYU, which comes to the Hilltop stinging after suffering a 99-83 loss to Pepperdine in Malibu. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. in War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Tickets are available on-line at USFDons.com/tickets.

Free Parking Information
Parking is available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots at the top of Hayes-Healy garage on Golden Gate Avenue adjacent to the gymnasium. Campus parking lots of choice include the lot at the Koret Center, located at the corner of Turk and Parker and the Hayes-Healy underground garage, located on Golden Gate Ave. just past the Sobrato Center.  View campus parking map here.