Feb. 10, 2008
Complete San Diego Game Notes in PDF Format
USF OPENS THREE-GAME HOMESTAND MONDAY VS. SAN DIEGO: After playing 11 of its last 14 games on the road, San Francisco opens a three-game homestand Monday night against San Diego at War Memorial Gym in a contest televised live by ESPNU. The Dons look to snap a two-game losing skid, but must do so against a Torero squad which posted a 6-1 slate in the first half of the West Coast Conference schedule. Prior to the San Diego contest, USF will recognize interim head coach Eddie Sutton, who made history February 2 in Malibu, becoming just the fifth coach in Division I annals to collect 800 career wins in an 85-82 triumph at Pepperdine. The coaching legend directed a furious USF rally which saw the Dons come back from a 19-point second half deficit to win their fifth straight against the Waves. San Diego owns a 5-5 road record this season, including an impressive 3-1 mark in WCC play. Dior Lowhorn - WCC SCORING LEADER: After sitting out the entire 2006-07 season under NCAA transfer rules, sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn is making up for lost time. The Texas Tech transfer and Bay Area native averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Red Raiders. Lowhorn was named NorCal Player of the Year also captured "Bay Area Player of the Year" honors from the Oakland Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle following his senior campaign at Berkeley High School. Lowhorn scored 26 points at Oklahoma (11/8/07) in his Dons debut and then turned in his first USF double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds against East Central (11/9/07). Lowhorn poured in a career-high 30 points in his home debut against Sacramento State (11/17/07) en route to West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. Lowhorn scored 29 points with seven rebounds at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07) in his third straight 20-plus point outing. Lowhorn has scored at least 20 points in 13 of 23 games and has registered 19 points six times. On the year, Lowhorn averages a team- and WCC-high 21.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Dior Lowhorn AMONG NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS: Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn ranks No. 20 among NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 21.0 points per game, as of February 2, 2008. Lowhorn is the first Don to crack the top-25 on the NCAA scoring list since John Cox (1999-05) accomplished the feat as a senior. Manny Quezada LEADS DONS OFFENSE: Junior guard Manny Quezada looks to improve upon a solid sophomore season for the Green and Gold in 2007-08. The Dons leading returning scorer (13.2), Quezada was named as one of six West Coast Conference "Players to Watch" by the league's coaches. In his first season after transferring from Rutgers, Quezada ranked 11th among WCC scoring leaders to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Capable of instant offense, Quezada tossed in 28 second half points en route to a career-high 35 points, at Saint Mary's (2/19/07). 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. The New York native averages 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. DONS TWO-HEADED MONSTER: USF's one-two punch of sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn and junior guard Manny Quezada made their 2007-08 regular season debuts at Oklahoma in opening round action of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic, benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The duo, combined for 39 of San Francisco's 55 points in a 71-55 loss against the Sooners, accounting for a remarkable .701 of the team's offensive output. The pair combined for 59 points at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Through 23 games of the 2007-08 campaign, Lowhorn and Quezada account for 35.5 points per game - .540 of the Dons total offense. USF DONS ON GREEN 960 AM: USF men's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2007-2008 season and all games will be available live at USFDons.com, while all games starting after 7:00 PM (PT) will air live on Green 960 AM. Join Pat Olson for the play-by-play in his 17th year behind the microphone courtside. USF Hall-of-Famer Jim Brovelli will join Olson on selected broadcasts. Other features available on USFDons.com include GameTracker, courtesy of CSTV.com with live play-by-play of all non-televised home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast. A LOOK AHEAD: USF hosts league-leading Gonzaga Saturday, February 16 in an 5:00 PM tip-off at War Memorial Gym. The game against the Bulldogs is the centerpiece of the 2008 USF Homecoming Weekend and will be televised live on ESPNU. GAME #24/WCC Game #8 - SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: The Toreros enter the second half of the 2008 West Coast Conference schedule with an 13-11 overall record and posted a strong 6-1 league record, good for a share of the top spot in the league standings. Winners of five straight decisions, USD's only WCC blemish came at Gonzaga (80-70). San Diego owns impressive road victories at Kentucky (81-72) and at Hawaii (73-72) to open the season. Junior guard Brandon Johnson leads the way for USD offensively, averaging a team-high 16.9 points and 3.7 rebounds, while junior center Gyno Pomare adds 14.3 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. Through 24 games, the Toreros average 63.6 points per game on .438 from the field, and shoot at a .331 clip from 3-point range. San Diego limits its opponents to 63.6 points per game on .438 from the floor. Longtime Gonzaga top assistant Bill Grier is in his first season leading the Toreros - his first head coaching assignment - and owns an overall career record of 13-11. Last season USD posted a 18-14 record, finishing fifth in the WCC at 6-8. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2007-2008 SEASON (As of 2/10/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 65.7 -7.0 .430 .322 .690 32.5 12.2 15.9 6.1 2.9 USD 63.6 0.0 .438 .331 .699 33.2 13.2 15.8 6.6 3.1 SAN DIEGO PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 2/10/08) LAST FOUR MEETINGS: at USD 46, USF 41 (1/12/07); USD 77, USF 75 (WCC Tourn. Semis, 3/3/07); USF 98, at USD 88 (2/3/07); at USF 103, USD 100, ot (1/6/07) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USD leads 30-29/USD won 2 ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: TOREROS AND DONS - THE LAST TIME: Danny Cavic - WCC'S TOP LONG DISTANCE GUNNER: Senior guard Danny Cavic enters his final season in the Green and Gold focused on leading USF to the top of the West Coast Conference standings. Despite battling a chronic back injury, which hampered his mobility for most of the 2006-07 season, Cavic led the league in 3-point field goal percentage, converting on .462 (36-78) from long distance. Cavic is the first Don to lead the league in long distance connections since Tomas Thompson accomplished the feat in 1992. Cavic scored a season-high 19 points at Pepperdine (1/15/07), converting on 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Cavic enjoyed a good night against East Central (11/9/07) in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. Cavic poured in a career-high 23 points and went 3-of-6 from 3-point range. The long range shooter has converted on .441 (45-102) from downtown this season and has 117 career treys, good for sole possession of fifth place on the Dons career list. A career .442 (117-265) shooter from beyond the arc, Cavic cracked the top five at No. 23 Saint Mary's, moving past Dons standout Darrell Tucker (1999-03), who recorded 116. Cavic averages 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per games as a senior. WALKING IN MEMPHIS: Freshman guard Myron Strong continues to produce for the Dons. Strong turned in an outstanding prep career at Memphis' Hamilton High School and helped propel the Wildcats to a 39-0 record en route to the 2006 state title. Strong turned a huge performance in his War Memorial Gym debut against Sacramento State (11/17/07), scoring a career-high 21 points with four rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes off the bench. Strong scored 14 points with three assists at UC Santa Barbara (11/20/07) and followed it with 15-point, seven assist performance at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). In USF's 60-59 win at Portland (1/19/08), Strong scored 13 points with six rebounds and five assists. On the season, Strong averages 10.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, ranks second on the team in assists (3.1) and leads the Dons in steals (1.7). Hyman Taylor REBOUNDS: Sophomore center Hyman Taylor is beginning to assert himself on the low block for USF. The Florida native has made big strides in the paint for the Dons and in seven West Coast Conference games averages 5.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Taylor ripped down a career-high 12 boards at Utah Valley State (12/31/07) - the most by a Don this season - and pulled down 10 boards at Gonzaga (1/21/08). Taylor posted his first career double-double with a career-high 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots against Santa Clara (1/28/08). Christian Hernandez READY FOR AN ENCORE: Sophomore guard Christian Hernandez made some big contributions for USF last season and figures prominently in the back court mix once again in 2007-08. The former walk-on averaged 8.9 minutes in 29 games and scored a career-high five points at Saint Mary's (2/19/07). Hernandez established a career-high with nine points with a pair of assists in 23 minutes against Weber State (12/8/07). LOWHORN NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: San Francisco forward Dior Lowhorn was named West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week Monday as announced by the conference office. Lowhorn scored a career-high 30 points and collected nine rebounds in the Dons' home-opening win over Sacramento State Saturday. Lowhorn shot .619 (13-21) from the field in his much-anticipated debut at War Memorial Gym. He also had two block and two assists in 36 minutes. A transfer from Texas Tech, Lowhorn was forced to sit out last season in accordance with NCAA regulations. He has averaged a conference high 25.0 points per game through the first three contests this year. Lowhorn also sits third in the WCC in rebounds per game with 9.3 and has a .525 shooting percentage, 13th best in the conference. POLAKOVIC TO MISS FIRST 24 GAMES OF SENIOR SEASON: USF senior forward Vince Polakovic will miss the first 24 games of the 2007-08 season the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff announced Wednesday. Polakovic's penalties were the result of his participation on a German professional team - in which several teammates, but not Polakovic, received stipends deemed by the NCAA to be above actual and necessary expenses - prior to his enrollment at Northern Iowa in 2004-05 and his subsequent transfer to the University of San Francisco. The Slovakia native must sit out the first 24 games of the 2007-08 season. Under the current ruling, Polakovic would be eligible to return to the Dons for their February 16 contest against Gonzaga. WALLACE BRYANT AMONG SIX MEMBERS TO BE INDUCTED INTO USF HALL OF FAME: USF Legend and two-time soccer All-American Staale Soebye (`94), baseball star Tad Tassone (`73), basketball greats Wallace Bryant (`82) and Jamie Shadian (`99), soccer standout Serge Burenin (`61) and longtime USF athletic trainer Wally Hayes will be inducted into the University of San Francisco Hub Flynn Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, February 15, 2008 during the Dons Homecoming Festivities. Considered one of the finest men's basketball centers in program history and a two-time all-West Coast Conference selection, Bryant teamed with All-Americans Bill Cartwright and Quintin Daily to earn USF three consecutive WCC Championships (1979-81) and four NCAA tournaments berths (1979-82) DONS ADD Robert McCullum TO THE COACHING STAFF: Former University of South Florida head coach Robert McCullum has been named to the coaching staff at the University of San Francisco as announced by interim head coach Eddie Sutton. A coaching veteran, McCullum spent four seasons as the Bulls boss after a successful three-year stint at Western Michigan. McCullum will be involved in all facets of the Dons program and is believed to be the only individual to coach at both USF's. Dior Lowhorn FIRST DON TO 30: Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn became the first USF player to crack 30 points for the Green and Gold this season with a career-high 30 points on 13-of-21 from the field against Sacramento State (11/17/07). Lowhorn is the third Don to score at least 30 points in a game since the start of last season. Antonio Kellogg scored 37 against San Diego (1/6/06) and junior guard Manny Quezada poured in a career-high 34 at Saint Mary's (2/19/07). Manny Quezada SECOND DON TO 30: Junior guard Manny Quezada became the second USF player to crack 30 points for the Green and Gold this season with a 30 points on 10-of-20 from the field at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Quezada is the fourth Don to score at least 30 points in a game since the start of last season and is the only player to accomplish the feat twice. Antonio Kellogg scored 37 against San Diego (1/6/06) and Quezada poured in a career-high 34 at Saint Mary's (2/19/07). USF IN SEASON OPENERS: Following a 71-55 loss to Oklahoma in the 2007-08 regular season opener, San Francisco owns a 12-11 record in season openers since 1985-86. The Dons had won two of their last four lid-lifters, including an 87-77 victory against Sonoma State (11/11/06). Before breaking through for a 73-62 victory against Tennessee-Martin in the 2003 Guardian's Classic, USF had dropped four straight season debuts. The Dons most lopsided win came in 1986-87 - a 64-19 pasting of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Jay Watkins WITHDRAWS FROM USF: Sophomore forward Jay Watkins (Memphis, TN) has withdrawn from the University of San Francisco and is no longer a member of the USF men's basketball team. Watkins is not currently academically eligible. DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,186: San Francisco collected the 1,186th victory in program history in a 85-82 victory at Pepperdine (2/2/08) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. The win was career victory No. 800 for USF interim head coach Eddie Sutton. In the 94th season of Division I basketball on the Hilltop, the Dons have their eyes set on 1,200 program victories.
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