Jan. 20, 2008

Final Stats

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Dior Lowhorn had 19 points and seven rebounds and Eddie Sutton got his 799th career victory in San Francisco's 60-59 win over Portland Saturday night.

Manny Quezada had 17 points and Myron Strong had 13 for San Francisco (5-12, 1-1 West Coast Conference), which won for the first time since Dec. 7.

The Dons lost their first four games under Sutton, who took over as interim coach in late December.

The Pilots (6-12, 2-1) were led by Sherrad Watson with 15 points and Luke Sikma with 10.

Sutton, whose 37-year career has included stints at Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State, joined the Dons after coach Jessie Evans took a leave of absence.

The 71-year-old has been to 26 NCAA tournaments as a coach. He led Arkansas to the Final Four in 1978 and Oklahoma State in 1995 and 2004. Sutton retired as coach at Oklahoma State in 2006.

The Dons snapped a seven-game losing skid. They led for much of the game, but Portland had a chance to pull it out at the end.

Robin Smeulders put the Pilots up 55-54 with a three-point play at 1:41. Quezada hit four free throws and a lean-in 10-footer to keep San Francisco on top, and Lowhorn swatted Luke Sikma with five seconds left.

Quezada was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Ito's heave at the buzzer missed.

The Pilots led 13-11 early in the game but San Francisco went on a 15-2 run to grab a double-digit lead. Luke Sikma's rebound and putback started a 9-2 run for Portland, but the Dons led 39-29 at halftime.

Portland began the second half with a 8-0 run as the Dons scored just four points in the first 13 minutes of the half. Taishi Ito hit a 20-footer to get the Pilots within 43-42 and then fed Sikma at 8:03 for a basket that put Portland back on top.

Manny Quezada hit a 3 on the other end for the Dons. Quezada set up Lowhorn on an alley-oop to make it 50-46.

The Pilots were 4-of-21 on 3-pointers.

With one more win, Sutton will become one of five coaches in Division I history with 800 wins. Texas Tech coach Bob Knight became the first coach to 900 wins on Wednesday.

PILOTS AND DONS - GAME NOTES:
- USF extended its winning streak against Portland to nine straight. The Dons have won their last three meetings against the Pilots by a combined five points.
- USF interim head coach Eddie Sutton improved to 5-0 vs. the Pilots - all four prior wins coming as Creighton head coach (1969-74)
- San Francisco allows just 52.5 points per game in WCC play
- Myron Strong dished out five assists in his seventh contest with at least five helpers