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USF Men's Basketball Takes Down Cal Poly 73-62 in 2009-10 Season Opener
Nov. 13, 2009
GALLERY
By Stacy Hicklin
USF Beat Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - The University of San Francisco men's basketball team wasted no time in setting the tone for its first regular season game.
A dominant start turned into a 73-62 win for the Dons against Cal Poly Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
The Dons (1-0) opened the game on a 14-0 run, hitting their first six shots from the field. USF senior Dior Lowhorn scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the first eight and half minutes of the game.
Cal-Poly (0-1) didn't score its first basket until nearly six minutes into the game. The Mustangs didn't reach double-digit scoring until 8:26 to go in the first half.
"After they beat us last year we wanted to come in with intensity and with something to prove and we wanted to win regardless of what happened," senior guard Dontae Bryant said. "And coach told us that our defense would fuel the offense."
The Dons held the Mustangs to 15.4 shooting from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game and were shooting 61.5 percent themselves by the break.
"They hit every shot and we gave them too much space by over helping on penetration," Cal Poly head coach Joe Callero said. "They also did a nice job with the shot clock going down."
USF led 44-28 at halftime and maintained a 20-point lead for the majority of the second half. The closest the Mustangs got in the second half was 11, the final margin of victory for the Dons, after finishing the game on an 8-1 run.
The Dons cooled off offensively in the second half, shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and turning the ball over nine times.
"We have to learn how to play two halves," USF head coach Rex Walters said. "We have to grow and learn that the [other team isn't] going to stop coming at you."
Angelo Caloiaro and Kwame Vaughn both finished with 15 points with Perris Blackwell adding eight points and seven rebounds.
The Dons take the court again at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16 at War Memorial Gym against Dominican.
