Spokane, Wash. - Dan Dickau scored 28 points as Gonzaga held off a valiant USF comeback to defeat USF 84-82 in a sold-out Martin Center in Gonzaga.

The Dons remained in the game despite forward Darrell Tucker and center Hondre Brewer fouling out midway through the second half. USF fought back from a 62-40 deficit with 12:23 remaining, holding Gonzaga without a field goal for the final 9:22. Meanwhile, the Dons made 12 of 16 three pointers three-pointers in the second half and continued the pressure on the Bulldogs, who have won 31 of their last 32 home games.

The Dons were paced by 19 points from Ali Thomas, who made five of six from three-point range, and 17 points from Shamell Stallworth, who hit 5 of 7 from outside the arc.

James Lee added 16. Blake Stepp added 17 for Gonzaga.

"We played really hard tonight and showed what we can do," said Dons' coach Phil Mathews. :I thought our defense was excellent in the second half. We played with a lot of heart tonight. Being down 22 points at Gonzaga is a real challenge."

The Dons also had to fight a huge differential with Gonzaga shooting 39 free-throws to just 10 for USF. The Bulldogs made their final 16 points from the free-throw line.

USF outshot Gonzaga 50.8% to 44.2% for the game. The Dons were only the second team to shoot 50% from the floor against Gonzaga this year, the first at home.

The Bulldogs improved to a perfect 9-0 in WCC play, 17-5 overall and recorded their 11th straight victory. The Dons lost for the seventh straight time in Spokane, dropping to 10-14, 3-6 in league play.

USF trailed 44-31 at the half, which ended on a disappointing note. The Dons trailed by 17 (39-22) earlier and had cut the lead to 10 and had possession of the ball for the last shot of the half. But Darrell Tucker, who was just 1 for 7 from the floor in the first half missed a lean-in 12 foot shot and the ball went out of bounds with five seconds left. Dan Dickau, who was 4-5 in the first half made a long three at the buzzer making the halftime lead 13. USF outshot the Bulldogs 52% to 47%, but GU made six threes and shot 10 more free-throws.

The Dons made 12 first half turnovers, including four by center Hondre Brewer, who also blocked his 90th shot of the year before intermission.

USF had its three game winning streak snapped and will play an important game Sunday afternoon at Portland, who is tied with USF with a 3-6 WCC mark. The Pilots defeated St. Mary's Friday night.