Jan. 26, 2002

Box Score

DONS WIN AT PORTLAND

USF paced by 26 points and 13 rebounds by forward Darrell Tucker survived Portland center Coky Rochin's 24 points and foul trouble by Hondre Brewer and LyRyan Russell to defeat Portland 77-69 at the Chiles Center Saturday.

Tucker, the junior from Oakland took control of the game in the second half, with 14 points and 7 rebounds after intermission. John Cox added 17 points and Tayo Akinsete added 13.

"It wasn't a particularly pretty win, but road wins are valuable in this league, so we'll take it," said Dons head coach Phil Mathews. "Portland is a really scrappy team and took advantage of our foul difficulty, three-point shooting and scrappy play."

The Dons improved to 9-10 on the season, 4-2 in WCC play, while the Pilots, led by Richin and Casey Frandsen'15 points dropped to 5-15 and 1-5. USF is now in sole possession of third place, just two games behind Pepperdine and one behind Gonzaga. The Dons have a chance to solidify that position, hosting the two fourth place teams, San Diego and Santa Clara next weekend.

The Dons led by as many as nine points early, but after Brewer left with his fourth foul, the Pilots made a run and took the lead with just under seven minutes remaining. The Dons took the lead for good when Tucker hit jumpers at 5:03 and 4:29 and Hondre Brewer jammed home a miss and was fouled at 3:36 to play to give USF a 70-64 margin. Brewer ended with nine points, four rebounds and four blocks in just 13 minutes before fouling out.

USF took a narrow 29-28 halftime lead, despite falling behind 7-0 early and center Hondre Brewer picking up three fouls in six minutes of play. USF defended all the Pilots well in the first half except center Coky Rochin, who hit all six of his shots while the rest of the Pilots went 5-24 floor.

The Dons return home next week to face San Diego Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and Santa Clara Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Friday night game has a late tip as it follows the annual USF Athletic Hall of Fame Hub Flynn Dinner.