Jan. 6, 2009
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USF OPENS WEST COAST CONFERENCE PLAY FRIDAY AGAINST SAN DIEGO: After posting its first winninng non-conference record since the 2004-05 season, San Francisco opens the 2009 West Coast Conference schedule Friday night when it hosts San Diego at War Memorial Gym in a game televised live by Comcast Sports. The Dons blew out visiting Cal State East Bay 80-40 in its final non-conference tune-up and first home game since December 6. Winners of four of its last five, the Toreros posted back-to-back victories at Mississippi State (64-61) and against Marshall (80-70) to close out the non-conference slate at 8-7. DONS IN WCC OPENERS: Since the start of the 1986 West Coast Conference season, USF owns a 10-13 record in league openers and is 6-3 in conference debuts at War Memorial Gym. San Francisco hosts San Diego in the WCC opener for both teams Friday, marking the third consecutive year the two squads have met in the league lid-lifter. The Toreros won a 46-41 decision last season at the Jenny Craig Pavilion and the Dons posted a thrilling 103-102 double overtime victory against USD to open the 2007 campaign. NON-CONFERENCE RETURNS: With 15 non-conference games in the books, USF demonstrated some positive tendencies to watch for during West Coast Conference action. - Dons leads the WCC in 3-point field goal percentage at .392 (109-278) WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: With a 8-7 non-conference record, USF posted its first winning non-conference schedule since the 2004-05 squad posted a 9-4 mark, including a 7-0 record at War Memorial Gym. Last season, the Dons staggered to a 4-11 pre-conference record, including a dismal 0-8 record on the road. USF has protected its home court, posting a 5-0 record, highlighted by a 73-72 victory against defending Big West regular season champion UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08) and a thrilling double overtime decision against Long Beach State (12/6/08). USF NON-CONFERENCE STAT COMPARISONS - 2008-09 vs. 2007-08: Team Rec. PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG 2008-09 8-7 72.1 +2.5 .469 .392 .683 31.9 13.5 14.7 5.7 2.5 2007-08 4-11 69.2 -5.5 .438 .332 .665 33.1 12.3 16.3 6.7 3.2 DONS BASKETBALL ON COMCAST SPORTS: USF men's basketball opens the 2009 West Coast Conference schedule this weekend against San Diego and longtime Bay Area rival Saint Mary's. Both contests will be carried live on Comcast Sports in the Bay Area with the San Diego contest also being carried by Cox 4 in Southern California. USF DONS BASKETBALL ON GREEN 960 AM: USF men's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2008-2009 season and all games will be available live at USFDons.com, with the bulk of the schedule available on Green 960 AM. Join Pat Olson for the play-by-play in his 18th year behind the microphone courtside. USF Hall-of-Famer Jim Brovelli will join Olson on selected broadcasts. Other features available on USFDons.com include live scoring via GameTracker, courtesy of CBS Sports. Dior Lowhorn - 2008 WCC FIRST TEAM AND LEAGUE SCORING LEADER: After sitting out the entire 2006-07 season under NCAA transfer rules, junior forward Dior Lowhorn made up for lost time in his first season in the Green and Gold. The Texas Tech transfer and Bay Area native turned in a prolific sophomore campaign for the Dons and led the West Coast Conference in scoring in overall (20.5) and WCC (20.5) contests - the first USF player to pace the league in scoring in both categories since John Cox accomplished the feat in 2004-05 (20.0/19.9). Lowhorn scored 636 points last season, good for fourth place on the Dons single-season scoring charts. A 2008 Mid-Major All-American and a All-WCC First Team pick - the first USF underclassmen tabbed since Gerald Walker in 1995 - Lowhorn scored at least 20 points in 18 games, including a career-high 29 at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Lowhorn led the Dons with five double-double nights last season and scored 19 points six times and was the only USF player to reach double-digit scoring in every game. Lowhorn was named to the 2008-09 WCC Preseason Team, as selected by the league's head coaches. Dior Lowhorn AMONG NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS: Junior forward Dior Lowhorn ranked No. 27 among final 2007-08 NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 20.5 points per game. Lowhorn is the first Don to crack the top-30 on the NCAA scoring list since John Cox (1999-05) did so as a senior. Lowhorn (20.3) ranked No. 24 among Division I leaders as of January 5, 2009. LOWHORN SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS: With a 23-point night at USC (12/1/08) junior forward Dior Lowhorn surpassed 1,000 combined career points and enters Friday's contest against San Diego with 1,171 points with 941 coming at USF and 230 at Texas Tech. Last year, the San Franciscan ranked fourth in USF single-season scoring history in his first year on the Hilltop, finishing with 636 points. Manny Quezada SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Senior guard Manny Quezada enjoyed a solid second season on the Hilltop, averaging 13.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. For his efforts, Quezada earned 2008 WCC Honorable Mention selection. The New York native ranked third among WCC assists leaders (4.6), was fourth in turnover to assist ratio (1.57) during league games. Quezada notched his second career 30-point game with a 30-point outburst at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07) and turned in his first double-double at Pepperdine (2/2/08) with 11 points and a career-high 12 assists. After scoring 17 points at Boston College (12/29/08), Quezada became the 29th USF player to surpass 1,000 career points, and enters Friday's game against San Diego with 1,017 points good for 29th on the career scoring list. Next up is USF Hall-of-Famer Mike Quick (1970-73), who scored 1,019. DONS TWO-HEADED MONSTER: USF relied heavily on the one-two punch of sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn and junior guard Manny Quezada last season and figure to count on them once again in 2008-09. Last year the duo combined for 39 of San Francisco's 55 points in a 71-55 loss at Oklahoma (11/9/07), accounting for a remarkable .701 of the team's offensive output. The pair combined for a season-high 59 points at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Last year in 31 games, Lowhorn and Quezada accounted for 34.4 points per game - .515 of the Dons total offense. Fifteen games into 2008-09, the duo averages 32.3 points per game, .448 of the team's output. NEW FACES PRODUCING IN THE DONS BACKCOURT: Three backcourt newcomers are making their presence felt for USF in their first year in the Green and Gold. Freshman East Bay product Kwame Vaughn ranks third on the team in scoring through 15 games at 10.9 per contest with 3.9 rebounds after a career-high 22 points at San Jose State (12/22/08). Junior Dontae Bryant adds 4.7 points and leads the team in assists at 3.3. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien has started 11 games for USF and adds strong defense to go along with 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per contest. As a group, the newcomer guard trio averages 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: With 15 games in the books for the 2008-09 season, USF's offense is sharing the scoring load. No fewer than four Dons average double-digit scoring, led by junior forward Dior Lowhorn (20.3). Senior guard Manny Quezada (11.9), freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (10.9), and junior forward Blake Wallace (10.4) lead the balanced USF offensive assault. DONS AND TOREROS GAME #16, WCC GAME #1 - SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: The Toreros enter Friday's West Coast Conference opener with a 8-7 overall record, including back-to-back wins at Mississippi State (64-61, ot) and against Marshall (80-70). Winners of four of five, San Diego owns a 2-2 road slate and took an impressive neutral court victory against Oregon (64-57) December 13 at the Rose Garden in Portland. The Toreros average 64.1 points on .457 shooting to go along with 32.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Trumaine Johnson paces San Diego offensively at 15.0 points per game leading four in double-digit scoring. Senior center Gyno Pomare adds 14.6 points, a team-hign 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, while sophomore forward Rob Jones chips in 10.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. Bill Grier is in his second season at USD and owns a 30-21 record as the top Torero. The longtime Gonzaga aide led San Diego to an improbable run to the 2008 NCAA Sweet-16. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 1/4/09): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 72.1 +2.5 .469 .392 .683 31.9 13.5 14.7 5.7 2.5 USD 64.1 +2.7 .457 .351 .730 32.6 12.4 14.5 6.2 3.3 SAN DIEGO PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/4/09) 2007-08 MEETINGS: at USD 46, USF 41 (1/12/08); USD 73, at USF 62 (2/11/08) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USD leads 31-29/USD won three ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: San Francisco concludes its three-game homestand when it hosts ancient Bay Area rival Saint Mary's Sunday night in a contest televised live by Comcast Sports. The Gaels posted a league-best 13-1 record during the non-conference schedule under head coach Randy Bennett. USF DONS HOOPS SHORTS: CAREER MILESTONES WITHIN REACH: Manny Quezada - 15 assists for 300 - Two steals for 100 USF Dons - Two victories for program win No. 1,200 USF NEWCOMERS READY FOR BATTLE: USF under first year head coach Rex Walters welcome no fewer than seven newcomers to the Hilltop for the 2008-09 season. A pair of junior college transfers - junior guard Dontae Bryant (Portland, OR) and junior forward Blake Wallace (Irvine, CA) - combine with five prep standouts - Angelo Caloiaro (San Jose, CA), Chris O'Brien (Irvine, CA), Clint Pekarsky (Granite Bay, CA), Peter Smith (Escondido, CA) and Kwame Vaughn (Oakland, CA). Blake Wallace ON THE RISE: Junior forward Blake Wallace has already made an impact for USF in the early going. The Irvine Valley JC transfer ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.4), second in rebounds (4.8) and is third on the team with 17 3-pointers. Wallace, who started his career at Pepperdine in 2006-07, scored a career-high 21 points in his Green and Gold debut at Hawaii (11/14/08) in the Verizon Wireless Tip-off Classic. Wallace scored 15 points in a 65-63 win against Colorado State (11/29/08) and turned in his first USF double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in a double overtime win against Long Beach State (12/6/08). Kwame Vaughn PROVIDING BIG SPARK FOR THE DONS: Freshman guard Kwame Vaughn has shown signs of developing into a clutch player for USF. The Oakland native ranks third on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game, leading all USF newcomers. Vaughn scored 17 points against Texas State (11/16/08) and added 11 points in back-to-back wins versus UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08) and Colorado State (11/29/08). Vaughn turned in a strong performance in a win at Boise State (12/13/08) with 18 points. The East Bay product scored a career-high 22 points - 19 coming in the second half - at San Jose State (12/22/08). Angelo Caloiaro PROVIDES A BIG LIFT: Freshman forward Angelo Caloiaro has made an impact for the Dons in the early going and through 15 games averages 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Caloiaro scored a career-high 15 points in a win against UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08) and 14 points with a career-high seven rebounds against Colorado State (11/29/08). The Mitty product has made 12 3-pointers. Dontae Bryant DRIVES AND DISHES: Junior guard Dontae Bryant has done a solid job quarterbacking the USF offense in his first season in the Green and Gold. Bryant averages 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and leads the team with 3.3 assists. The Oregonian has dished out at least four assists in seven games this season. DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,198: San Francisco collected the 1,198th victory in program history in a 80-40 blowout against Cal State East Bay (1/3/09). In the 95th season of Division I basketball on the Hilltop, the Dons have their eyes set on 1,200 all-time wins.
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