|
USF Visits First Place Pepperdine After Big Wins Over San Diego, Santa Clara
Feb. 6, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
* Darrell Tucker is averaging 19.2 points and 10.1 reb. per game - 13 double-doubles
San Francisco, CA - With a 6-2 league record and sole possession of third place in the WCC, USF faces first place Pepperdine Friday night in Malibu and LMU Saturday in Los Angeles. (radio only - KYCY-1550 AM). The two games are the first two of four straight road contests before USF returns home to play 10th ranked Gonzaga on February 22nd. USF has won nine of its last 12 contests, with three last minute losses preventing a real hot streak. The Dons lost on a last second shot by Pacific on December 15th, in the final minutes at Texas A&M Corpus Christi on December 18th, and had a chance to take the lead in the last :20 vs. Pepperdine . JOHN COX NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: USF forward John Cox has been named West Coast Conference Player of the Week, the second USF player in three weeks to receive the honor (Tucker). Cox, playing before his father and former USF star "Chubby" Cox for the first time in two seasons (he missed last season with a bone spur), scored a career high 22 points in a win over San Diego and followed that the next night with 20 in the Santa Clara win. Cox made 16-28 shots from the floor (57.1%), 8-9 from three-point range (88.9%) had 13 assists (just one turnover) and seven rebounds. HOT, HOT, HOT: Two teams that are on hot streaks meet Friday night at Malibu when the Waves host USF. USF has won 9 of 12, but the Waves (7-1 at home, only loss to Georgia) have won 10 in a row. It is also a battle of the WCC's top shot blocker is Pepperdine's Cedric Suitt (60 blks) and USF's Hondre Brewer (56 blks). In the first matchup at USF, Brewer blocked five shots, Suitt 1 (but Suitt fouled out in 9 min of action.) Pepperdine eventually won the game 74-68, but only after Darrell Tucker missed a shot to go ahead and LyRyan missed a layup to tie in the final minute. All this despite Pepperdine holding a 15-point lead with 9:21 left. After Russell's layup miss, the Waves sunk five free-throws for the final margin. Boomer Brazzle led Pepperdine with 16, and Terrance Johnson added 15, while Tucker had 15 points and Russell 14 for the Dons on Jan. 12th. TUCKER, COX LEAD WIN OVER BRONCOS: Darrell Tucker and John Cox combined for 42 points as USF led 11-3 after four minutes of play (Tucker scored USF's first nine points) on the way to a 40-26 halftime lead. Santa Clara got within 10 points just once before another 10-0 USF spurt put the Dons up 53-36 with 14:57 remaining. The Broncos never got any closer than 14 points after that point. Tucker had a monster night with 26 points (12-17 floor) and 10 rebounds (for 13th double-double) with Cox adding 20 points, 7 assists (no turnovers). DONS JUMP ON TOREROS: The Dons came out fast and led 15-3 after five minutes of play. USF never let San Diego ever get closer that six points for the remainder of the contest before eventually taking a 87-71 decision. The Dons were up 42-27 at the half and the lead remained in double figures for the entire second half. USF was paced by Darrell Tucker's 12th double-double (23 pts/10 rebounds), a career best 22 points by John Cox (17 in second half, 5-5 from three-point range) and solid games by Hondre Brewer (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks) and LyRyan Russell (7 assists/1 to). Tayo Akinsete added 13 off the bench. DONS PICKED SECOND: USF was selected to finish second in the WCC by league coaches, behind Gonzaga. USF MAKING A RUN: USF is on a roll, and the statistics show why USF is better over the last 12 games than over the first nine: Especially important are the field goal percentages, opponent points and rebound margin. THE EAST BAY SKYLINE: Two players from Oakland, senior center Hondre Brewer and junior forward Darrell Tucker were the reason that USF was projected to finish second by West Coast Conference coaches and media. Tucker is the league returning leading scorer (16.5) and rebounder (6.8) as well as the returning leader in field goal pect. (44.3) and free-throw pct. (80.4). Brewer blocked 114 shots last year (a WCC and Bay Area record) and averaged 6.2 rebounds. TUCKER PLAYING WELL: USF forward Darrell Tucker, from Oakland's McClymonds High School (who also gave USF a young center named Bill Russell), is playing well offensively, scoring 19.2 points and averaging 10.1 rebounds per game. In league play, he is averaging 20.6 points and 10.8 rebounds. Over the past 12 games, he is averaging 20.8 ppg., 10.9 rpg. and is shooting 50.8% from the floor. He has led USF in rebounding in all 12 of those games and in scoring 10 times. Entering the week he ranked second in the WCC in scoring and second in rebounding, 5th in FG%, and leads the WCC in offensive rebounds (3.62 avg.). His 18 blocks this year are more than he totaled his first two seasons. Phil Mathews stated in the West Coast Conference media call that although Darrell has really improved his rebounding, he wants Tucker to score in the 22-24 point range. He feels that Tucker needs to have a breakout game in the thirty point range and that "we have to get him the ball more". Coach Mathews also said that Tucker needs to hit the offensive glass more and get more putbacks. He pulled his 500th career rebound against Michigan Dec. 29 when he recorded 11. He scored his 1000th career point at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and is now 15th on the USF career scoring list with 1255 points (16.1 avg), after passing Ali Thomas (1237) Saturday. He needs just 15 points to pass Dennis Black (1269) to move into 14th place. He pulled his 600th rebound and is tied for 18th on the USF career rebounding list with 606 with John Hegwood. He has led USF in scoring 13 times this year and led the team in rebounding in 16 contests. He has 12 double-doubles this season, nine in the last 11 games. Scored 18 points and pulled 15 rebounds vs. Seton Hall...was named WCC player of the week after USF's late December wins (including Michigan) and after the the St. Mary's contests on Jan. 16-19...double-double 15 points, 13 rebounds vs. CS Fullerton...season-low 7 points, 6 rebounds vs. UCSB...22 points, 8 rebounds at Nevada, 21 points, 8 rebounds vs. Xavier...22 points, 7 rebounds vs. Fresno State...23 points, 12 rebounds vs. Hayward...9 points, 6 rebounds vs. UOP...17 points, 9 rebounds at Corpus Christi, 28 points, 14 rebounds at Southern...14 points, 11 rebounds vs. Michigan...16 points, 7 rebounds at BYU...26 points, 13 rebounds vs. TAMCC, 20 points, 14 rebounds vs. LMU, 15 points, 10 rebounds vs. Pepperdine, 25 points, 12 rebounds at St. Mary's, 22 points, 11 rebounds vs. St. Mary's...26 points, 13 rebounds at Portland, 23 points, 10 rebounds vs. San Diego, 26 points, 10 reb. vs. Santa Clara (12-17 floor). BREWER SETS WCC MARK, TURNING HIS GAME AROUND: USF senior center Hondre Brewer from St. Joseph's HS, became the WCC's all-time shot block leader when he blocked two shots at Nevada . He now has 257 career blocks, 51 more than former Gonzaga star Casey Calvary. After struggling early, he is now turning his game around. Over the past 12 contests he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.9 blocks and shooting 57.0% from the floor. Perhaps the most remarkable Brewer stat this season is his free-throw percentage. His first three years he shot 33%, 45% and 52% from the line, while this season he is 39-55 (70.9%) from the charity stripe. He had a great game in the win over Michigan with 8 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. In a head to head matchup with this year's WCC block leader, Hondre blocked five Pepperdine shots, while Cedric Suitt blocked just one for the Waves. At St. Mary's, he was a huge force with 12 points, 7 rebounds and seven blocks. Against Gonzaga he scored 14 points, making 8 of nine floor shots, but pulled just three rebounds. Despite playing just 13 minutes at Portland last Saturday, he made a major impact in game with nine points, four rebounds and four blocks. Excellent vs. San Diego, especially in first half when he had 12 points (5-6 floor) and four blocks and added six blocks vs. Santa Clara. RUSSELL IS BACK: LyRyan Russell returned to start the WCC season after he suffered a slight concussion at BYU. He responded with 9 assists, 4 points and 4 steals in 35 minutes vs. LMU and 14 points and 3 assists vs. Pepperdine. On January 19th, he easily passed his career high with 22 points vs. St. Mary's, making 6 of 8 shots from the floor and 10-12 from the line. Russell missed all of last season due to a hip injury. LyRyan was effective in both the summer tour and the recent preseason. Over his first 21 games he is averaging 7.7 ppg., 4.5 apg (3rd WCC), 3.6 rpg. and 1.9 steals (leads WCC) per contest. Friday he passed former teammate, Ali Thomas (334) for third place on the USF career list, when he recorded seven steals and had just one turnover. LyRyan will have company at the Hilltop this year as his sister, Toni, is the Lady Dons starting point guard. She helped the Lady Dons upset Washington, Utah and Cal this year. JUST LIKE 'COUSIN KOBE: Sophomore guard John Cox has played well at forward and now guard this year after a redshirt season. He is the current WCC Player of the Week after scoring a career high 22 points, 17 after halftime and made all five of his three-point attempts vs. San Diego and adding 20 vs. Santa Clara. It was the first time that his dad, former Dons' star "Chubby" Cox has seen him play in two years. He leads USF in three-point percentage (46.5%, 3rd WCC) and leads the WCC during league games (60.9, 14-23) free-throw percentage (80.0%) and is second in scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) on the squad. He recorded his first career double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds at Fresno State. He has already surpassed his scoring of his freshman season. He has recorded three double-doubles. He scored the three-pointer that put USF ahead to stay vs. LMU. After a four-point, six rebound effort against Hayward, he recorded two consecutive career highs of 16 points (Pacific) 18 points (Texas A&M). At Southern he scored 15 points and added 11 boards. He had a special guest, cousin Kobe Bryant, when the Dons won their first game of the season at Cal State Fullerton on November 19th. USF responded with a 70-43 win. STALLWORTH A KEY: Junior guard Shamell Stallworth will be a key to USF's hopes in WCC play. Two weeks ago, he was replaced in the starting lineup vs. Gonzaga, but responded with 14 points, shooting 6-11 from the floor. Last season he was one of the top three-point shooters in WCC play, nailing 47.9% of his treys (23-48). Right now he is struggling from outside the arc, with a 26.7% on 20-75 shooting. He equaled his career high with 23 points Jan. 11 vs. LMU, and made 3 of 6 treys. He has scored in double figures just four times in his last 12 games.. A dependable free-throw shooter where he is shooting 78.7% from the line. Scored a career best 23 points in opener vs. Seton Hall, added 20 points in game vs. Fresno State and had his career first double-double at TAMCC (14p/10r) on December 17. 70 POINTS - WIN OR LOSE: During the seven years of the Philip Mathews era at USF, a key to a Dons' victory has been the opponents' score. When USF opponents score 70 or less in regulation, USF is 86-28, and when the opponents score more than 70, USF is 18-61. This year, USF is 8-2 when holding teams below 70, 2-6 when allowing more than 70. USF is 6-2 WCC (4-1 home, 2-1 road), 5-8 nonconference, 6-5 home (Streak W3), 4-5 road (Streak W1), 1-0 neutral (W1), 0-0 in overtime, 7-5 in white jerseys, 3-4 in green, 1-1 in black, 9-1 when leading at the half, 1-9 when trailing, 1-0 when tied, 3-1 when shooting 50% from the floor, 8-8 when shooting less than 50%, 10-1 when outshooting their opponent, 1-9 when outshot, 0-0 when equal, 11-8 when holding their opponents under 50% floor, 0-2 when opponent shoots 50%, 7-3 when USF shoots more FT's, 4-5 when USF shoots less FT's, 1-1 when free-throws are the same, 10-0 when USF leads with 5 minutes left, 11-0 when USF leads with 1 minute left, 0-1 when tied with 1 minute left, 5-4 when USF bench outscores opponent, 5-6 when opposing bench outscores USF, 1-0 when bench is equal, 8-3 when outrebounding opponent, 2-7 when outrebounded, 1-0 when rebounds are the same, 4-2 when more 3's, 7-7 when less 3's, 0-1 when 3's are equal, 7-10 when USF scores less than 80 pts., 3-0 when USF scores 80 points, 2-0 when USF scores 90 points, 0-0 when USF scores 100+ pts., 9-2 when holding opponents to 70 points or under, 2-4 when opponents scores 71-79, 0-5 when opponent scores 80 or more. NEW RADIO HOME: The Dons have moved up the dial to KYCY 1550 AM, where all games will be covered live. Play by play man Pat Olson is in his eleventh season. The Phil Mathews' radio show will air each Monday on KYCY, as well, at 8:00 p.m. The games and Mathews show can also be heard over Yahoo! Broadcast via www.USFDons.com. SUMMER TOUR: The USF men's basketball team has a successful summer tour of the Canary Islands and Spain. "I am very happy about the way that this team performed night in and night out," said Dons head coach Philip Mathews. "We played against some really good competition and more than held our own. The team stuck together and we come out of this almost two-week experience as a more cohesive unit. "The three redshirts (LyRyan Russell, John Cox and Jason Gaines) had a chance to blend back into the team and feel good about themselves after their injuries last year. "The players had a chance to experience a different culture and also to learn more about their teammates and the coaching staff. I couldnīt be more pleased. We won six out of seven games, but that wasnīt the key. It was the fact that we played and fought together as a team. "It was a great time and a great experience," said point guard Russell. "We saw new things, ate new foods, met new people. We have a lot of confidence, but we will continue to work on our execution.Ļ Barcelona, Spain, the locale for the final three contests was a return to the roots of the USF Dons. Both St. Ignatius (of the Jesuits) and the original Spanish Dons were from this European nation. DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Tucker 12 -Seton Hall (18p/15r), CS Fullerton (15p/11r), CS Hayward 23p/11r, at Southern 28p/14r, Michigan 14p/11r, Texas A&M CC (26p/13r), LMU (20p/14r), Pepperdine (15p/10r), at St. Mary's (25p/12r), vs. St. Mary's (22p/11r), at Portland 26p/13r, San Diego (23p/10r), Cox 3 - at Fresno State (12p/12r), Pacific (16p/10a), at Southern 15p/11r, Stallworth -Texas A&M-CC 14p/10r GAMES 20 PTS OR OVER: Cox (22 vs. San Diego), Russell (22 vs. SMC), Stallworth 3 (23 v. Seton Hall, 20 at Fresno St., 23 vs. LMU), Tucker 13 (22 at Nevada, 21 vs. Xavier, 22 at Fresno St., 23 vs. CS Hayward, 28 at Southern, 26 vs. TAMCC, 20 vs. LMU, 25 at St. Mary's, 22 vs. St. Mary's, 26 at Portland, 23 vs. San Diego, 26 p/10r vs. Santa Clara
CAREER & SEASON BESTS: (*-first season) The Dons battled hard against the Pilots and held the hosts without a field goal over the last 5:24 to win 77-69. Darrell Tucker scored 26 points and pulled 13 rebounds, 18 points and seven rebounds coming in the second half. Tucker recorded his 11th double-double of the year, five in his six WCC contests. In the Gonzaga loss, USF trailed just 52-50 with 17 minutes left in the game before the Zags went on a 17-2 run to take control of the contest. The Bulldogs controlled the boards with a 49-28 margin, which determined the outcome of the game. USF has three players lead the team in scoring, Tayo Akinsete, Shamell Stallworth and Hondre Brewer, who each scored 14 points. Darrell Tucker, who had five straight double-doubles entering the game, scored just 8 points and pulled 6 rebounds before fouling out in 29 minutes. Gonzaga became just the second team to shoot 50% vs. USF this year, mostly due to second chance points. USF SWEEPS ST. MARY'S: USF paced by WCC Co-Player of the Week Darrell Tucker swept St. Mary's last week (63-46 in Moraga and 84-67 at USF. In Moraga, after a sluggish first half, after USF led 21-19, the Dons blew away St. Mary's (63-46) paced by Tucker and Hondre Brewer (12 points, 7 reb., 7 blocks). USF held the Gaels to just 25% shooting for the contest, with the Dons blocking 10 of SMC's 49 attempted shots. USF rode a strong first half by Darrell Tucker (18 pts., 9 reb. 7-7 floor) to take a 44-32 lead at intermission and coast to a 84-67 win. LyRyan Russell scored a career-best 22 points on 6-8 floor, 10-12 ft. shooting. DONS COMEBACK AGAINST WAVES FALL SHORT: USF, down 65-51 to Pepperdine with under eight minutes to play, failed to convert on two close chances in the last 25 eventually lost 74-68. USF's failure to hit some open shots doomed the team to defeat, despite a valiant comeback from a 14 point deficit. USF has two chances to take the lead or tie the score in the final 20 seconds but short shots by Darrell Tucker and LyRyan Russell fell off the rim. The Dons were again failed by their three-point shooting, hitting just 2-17 in the defeat. In a head to head matchup, Hondre Brewer blocked five shots and WCC block leader Cedric Suitt had just one for the Waves. Tucker led USF and recorded another double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. DONS TOP LMU: Shamell Stallworth scored 23 points and Darrell Tucker recorded his seventh double-double of the year with 20 points and 14 rebounds as USF defeated LMU 75-66. Trailing 43-42, the Dons ran off a 15-5 run to lead 57-48 and were never challenged again, building a 12-point lead. The 23-point effort (on 8-11 floor shooting) equaled his career best in the season's opener vs. Seton Hall. For Tucker it was his fourth double-double in the last fine games and his seventh game with at least 20 points this year. DONS HOLD ON TO BEAT ISLANDERS: Darrell Tucker made a three-point play with 2:50 remaining to tie the score and the Dons made four free-throws in the final 2:18 as USF outlasted Texas A&M Corpus Christi 65-63 at Memorial Gym on January 5th. Tucker recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 26 points and 13 rebounds. USF struggled to stay in control because they were outrebounded 41-33 by the guests and made just 10-20 free-throws in the second half. DONS ARE COUGARS 28TH STRAIGHT VICTIM: USF lost a roller-coaster type game at BYU Jan. 2, a game in which both teams made numerous runs. It was the Cougars eighth straight win and their 28th consecutive home victory. BYU took a 34-24 lead in the first half, but the Dons closed it to 34-31. The Cougars took a 44-31 lead before the Dons closed it to 44-41. But finally BYU pulled ahead to stay with a 8-0 run (six free-throws) and took command at 54-43. Free-throws, or rather the lack of them were USF's bugaboo that night, as BYU shot 15 in the second half to just two for the Dons. The Dons poor three-point shooting (3-21) also doomed them. BIG (10) WIN: The Dons defense was the story as USF defeated Michigan 55-47 Dec. 29th at the Oakland Coliseum. The Dons held the Wolverines to just 24.6% shooting in the contest and just 47 points. USF was paced by Darrell Tucker who scored a team-high 14 points and added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. He scored five straight USF points in the last 2:30 to enable the Dons to hold onto the victory. Hondre Brewer also had a big game with 8 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. DONS WHIP JAGUARS: USF got its third win of the season, 93-78 over Southern University on December 20 in Baton Rouge. USF blew out to a 26-13 lead and built in to 27 points (88-52) before taking out most of the starters. The Dons got double-double performances from Darrell Tucker (28 pts/14 rebounds) and John Cox (15 pts/11 reb.) and 14 points by center Hondre Brewer. DONS LOSE SECOND STRAIGHT HEARTBREAKER: USF lost 80-75 loss at Texas A&M Corpus Christi Dec. 18. In that game, USF played poorly in the first half and trailed 46-30 at the break. The Dons, who average 13.9 turnovers per contest coughed the ball up 16 times in the first half. USF fought back and took the lead twice late in the game, nut could not hold on and wound up losing the lead in the final minute. The defeat followed a painful 72-69 defeat last Saturday night, when Pacific guard Jono Metzger-Jones nailed a 27 foot bomb with 0.00.4 remaining to win the game for the Tigers. USF played very hard in that game and lost the game by not making crucial free-throws, and making just 25 of 36 for the contest. USF led at halftime 31-26, but trailed 58-48 with 8,23 remaining. The Dons then made a 12-3 run before eventually tying the game at 67 with 1:04 left on a trey by guard LyRyan Russell. UOP went ahead with 0:24 left, by Russell again tied the game on a driving layup with :07 left. After USF tied it, they attempted to call timeout, but it was not acknowledged by the referees and UOP made their game winner. USF was paced by John Cox, who recorded his second double-double in three games with a career high 16 points and 12 rebounds. DONS ROUT HAYWARD: The Dons outscored Cal State Hayward 50-26 in the second half December 8 to take a 94-59 win. USF got another double-double performance by Darrell Tucker (23 pts/11 reb.), his fourth straight game leading the Dons in scoring and scoring at least 20 points. Hondre Brewer also added a season high 14 points and 6 rebounds and freshman Jerome Gumbs added a career high 11 points. FRESNO STATE (WITH ELY) TOPPLES DONS: The Dons lost to 16th ranked Fresno State Dec. 4th in Fresno. USF, who had won two straight over the Bulldogs, played well early in both halves. The score was tied at 21-all when Fresno State closed out the half on a 20-5 run over the last seven minutes. The Dons fought back to within 53-46, and had possession, but couldn't close it any tighter in a 65-75 loss. USF played with all-american candidate Melvin Ely (activated just hours before the game) who led Fresno State with 22 points. DONS LOSE MAYOR'S GAME: USF lost its third straight game Dec. 1, falling to Xavier 87-72. USF's offense was back in synch on Saturday, however, after a slow start. The Dons scored 72 points, the first time in three games they have scored 70. USF was down 14-2 at the 15:37 mark, but fought to close to within five points at 33-28. USF trailed 51-36 at the half, but shot 53.3% from the floor in the first session. The problem for USF was the outside shooting of Xavier (who earlier in the week gave Miami of Ohio its worst home loss ever by 29 points), who made 54.3% in the first half and outrebounded USF by a 22-9 count. In the second half, both teams cooled a little, but Xavier still managed to become the first team this season to shoot 50% from the floor against the Dons, while USF shot 46.8% for the game. USF shooting percentages over the previous two games (vs. UCSB, at Nevada): 29.9% floor (32-107), 16.7% 3-pt. (8-48), 67.9% FT (67.9). That is a marked change over the first two games when the Dons made 43% of their shots, 42% from outside the arc and 80.6% of their free-throws. COLD IN NEVADA: The Dons shooting touch was as cold in Nevada as the weather. USF made just 18 of 54 field goals (33.3%) and 13.0% from three-point in a 84-59 loss at Nevada Wednesday. Darrell Tucker kept USF in the game early, scoring the Dons first ten points, and the Dons rallied from a 24-16 deficit to come to within one at 24-23. But Nevada rallied to make it 34-25 at the half. Nevada put together a 14-5 run to start the second half to put the game out of reach behind a career high 21 points by center Sean Paul. USF was paced by 22 points and eight rebounds by Darrell Tucker. DONS FALL AT HOME TO UCSB: USF came into last Saturday night's game on a high after defeating Cal State Fullerton on Monday, but the Dons fell 69-49 to the Gauchos. It was a case in which nothing seemed to fall for USF, which shot 26.4% from the floor and made just 5 of 25 three-point shots. UCSB also had a large rebound margin of 43-28. DONS "D" DOES IT IN WIN AT FULLERTON: After an opening game 87-79 loss to Seton Hall (who lost a 1-point game to #1 Duke in their next encounter) in which the guests shot 47.5% from the floor and 70.6% (12-17) from three point range, coach Mathews challenged his defense to step up. They did in a 70-43 win at Cal State Fullerton on Monday night. USF held Fullerton to just five first half field goals (three in the first 15 minutes) and 13 for the game while forcing them to shoot a measly 30.2% for the game. The offense stepped up with Tayo Akinsete scoring a career best 17 off the bench (4-8 from three-point range), Shamell Stallworth adding 16 and Darrell Tucker scoring his second straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. "This was a team win," said coach Mathews. "Everyone played hard and the results was a good victory."
USF FALLS BEHIND, CAN'T CATCH UP VS. THE HALL: The Dons were beaten by Seton Hall in the opener due to some torrid three point shooting by the visiting Pirates. Seton Hall took a 13-point halftime lead, mostly behind three point shooting, as they nailed 10 of 14 treys in the first half. The Dons tried to comeback behind 23 points by Shamell Stallworth and 18 by Darrell Tucker, but were unable to. USF shot poorly in the game, as well, making just 23-66 shots (34.8%).
|
|
