Montana State guard Pete Conway looks to pass while being covered by San Francisco forward Tayao Akinsete on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2000, in Hilo, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Reserve center Tom Duffy came off the bench to spark a late rally as Montana State defeated a shorthanded USF team 71-66 Sunday in the consolation game of the Big Island Invitational Tournament. The Dons return home to face Brigham Young Thursday and Fresno State Saturday in Memorial Gym.

USF playing again without a natural point guard, this time also had to battle foul trouble that kept all-WCC forward Darrell Tucker on the bench throughout much of the second half. Center Hondre Brewer was also limited to just 25 minutes because of foul difficulty.

Still USF shot the poor poorly, including just a 3-11 floor effort for Tucker and only 1-10 shots made by Ali Thomas. Thomas, however, did a good job running the point with six assists and just one turnover.

The Bobcats (3-2) led by two points with 6:47 left when Duffy hit a basket, a 3-pointer and converted on a three-point play to open a 10-point gap. USF (2-3) got to within four, but Jason Erickson scored the next five points to put the game away.

Duffy finished with 12 points with Justin Brown high for the Bobcats with 14 and John Lazosky adding 13. For the Dons, Shamell Stallworth had 17 with six coming on 3-pointers. James Lee added 14 points and 8 rebounds. USF now enters a difficult stretch in the schedule, hosting BYU Thursday and Fresno State on Saturday, preceding a trip the following week to Xavier of Ohio.

"We didnt play well enough to win," said Dons coach Philip Mathews. "We were shorthanded, but we still should have beat them. Our big guys didnt get it done, so we lost."

The Dons hope to hear soon about the status of injured point guards Chris Barideaux and Jason Gaines who injured their knees in USF first two games of the week. USF went 2-2 on the roadtrip that started with an overtime win over UC Santa Barbara.