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Dons Earn Revenge On San Diego, 87-71 and Move Into Third Place Tie
Feb. 14, 2006
USF (AP) - Alan Wiggins Jr. had a career-high 25 points with 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double, leading USF to an 87-71 win over San Diego on Monday night.
Jerome Gumbs and Jason Wallace-Carter added 14 points apiece for the Dons, who avenged a 71-68 loss to the Toreros two nights earlier. Armondo Surratt had 13 points and five assists for USF (10-14, 6-5 WCC), which equaled its conference win total from last season.
Nick Lewis and Corey Belser scored 16 points apiece for San Diego (16-8, 6-5), which lost for just the second time in seven games.
San Diego coach Brad Holland was ejected and had to be restrained by his assistants after getting called for consecutive technical fouls with 3:53 left in the second half. Holland was protesting a shot made by Gumbs, who was sitting underneath the basket when he shot the ball.
USF led 40-37 before breaking the game open with a 14-0 to begin the second half. Wiggins had six points during the run while Danny Cavic added a pair of 3-pointers, helping the Dons build a 17-point lead.
Two nights after shooting just 40.4 percent in the loss at San Diego, USF made six of its first seven attempts in the second half while the Toreros went 0-for-6 with two turnovers. The Dons finished the game shooting 56.4 percent.
San Diego, which dropped into a third-place tie with USF, closed within 58-49 with 8:30 remaining before the Dons used a 19-5 run to put the game away.
San Diego led 33-30 late in the first half when USF, sparked by a bucket by Wallace-Carter inside and a 3-pointer from Gumbs, went on an 8-0 run to go in front. Gumbs capped the run by forcing a turnover and feeding Wiggins for a dunk.
Drew Shiller came off the bench with 11 points and four assists for USF.
Gyno Pomare had 13 points and nine rebounds for San Diego.
USF leads the all-time series between the two teams, 28-27.
USF hosts Santa Clara in its final home game on Monday, February 20th.
