Nov. 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
USF HOSTS COLORADO STATE: San Francisco closes out its three-game homestand when it takes on Colorado State in a Saturday matinee on the Hilltop. The Dons improved to 4-1 on the season with a 73-72 come-from-behind win against UC Santa Barbara on Monday, improving to 2-0 at War Memorial Gym. USF trailed the Gauchos by 11 with 4:18 remaining, but stormed back behind junior forward Dior Lowhorn, who scored nine of his team-high 17 points in the final 3:30 to lift the Dons to their second straight win. DONS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 1999-00: After opening the season with a 4-1 record, USF is off to its best start since the 1999-00 squad reeled off a 12-1 non-conference start. San Francisco's only loss during the non-conference slate that year came at Maryland (71-61) in the opening game of the 1999 Preseason NIT. EARLY RETURNS: With five games in the books, USF has demonstrated some positive tendencies to watch for in the upcoming contests. EXTENDED ROAD TRIP AWAITS THE DONS: After USF takes on Colorado State Saturday, the Dons play in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym just once before the new year - a December 6 contest against Long Beach State. San Francisco plays eight of nine December contests on the road, beginning with a Monday, December 1 contest at USC in the Dons first game against the Trojans since the 1972-73 campaign. USF travels to Cal Poly (12/3) before hosting the 49ers. The Dons then travel to Pacific (12/9) and Boise State (12/13) before returning to the Bay Area to take on San Jose State (12/22). After breaking for the Christmas holiday, USF closes out its five-game road trip at Holy Cross (12/27) and at Boston College (12/29). San Francisco opens up 2009 with a three-game homestand beginning with a Saturday, January 3 matchup against Cal State East Bay. 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 and live streaming video of all non-televised home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast. YAHOO ONLY BROADCASTS (NOT CARRIED ON GREEN 960): Three remaining 2008-09 regular season games will not be carried on Green 960 and will be available on the internet via Yahoo Broadcast on USFDons.com: USF at Holy Cross (11/27), USF at Boston College (11/29) and USF vs. Cal State East Bay (1/3). PAT OLSON CALLS CAREER BROADCAST NO. 500 IN DONS 73-72 WIN AGAINST UCSB: Veteran USF play-by-play man Pat Olson recorded 500th career broadcast in the Dons 73-72 win against UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08). Olson is currently in his 18th year calling the action for San Francisco basketball. 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 2007-80 NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 20.5 points per game, in the final Division I stats released in March of 2008. Lowhorn is the first Don to crack the top-30 on the NCAA scoring list since John Cox (1999-05) accomplished the feat as a senior. LOWHORN CLOSING ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Junior forward Dior Lowhorn is closing in on 1,000 combined career points and enters Saturday's contest against Colorado State with 971 points with 741 coming at USF and 230 at Texas Tech. Last year, the Bay Area native ranked fourth in USF single-season scoring history in his first campaign in the Green and Gold, finishing with a remarkable 636 points. Manny Quezada CLIMBING THE USF SCORING CHARTS: 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 eight points Monday against UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08), Quezada finished with 901 career points, moving past Naismith Hall-of-Famer K.C. Jones (1951-56), who scored 893 points, for 35th place on the San Francisco career scoring list. James Lee (1998-01) sits at No. 34 with 919. 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). In 31 games of the 2007-08 campaign, Lowhorn and Quezada accounted for 34.4 points per game - .515 of the Dons total offense. Five games into the 2008-09 campaign, the duo averages 33.6 points per game, .438 of the team's scoring output. NEW FACES IN THE DONS BACKCOURT: Three guards made their USF debuts in the Verizon Tip-off Classic. Freshman East Bay product Kwame Vaughn dazzled at times ranking third on the team in scoring with 13.5 points on .571 ( 8-14) shooting and Junior Dontae Bryant chipped in with 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his opening weekend in a Dons uniform. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien showed promise as well, averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in a pair of starts. Vaughn earned his first career start Tuesday at Cal and responded with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes. Bryant added seven points, while O'Brien had six. DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: Five games into 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 (21.0). Senior guard Manny Quezada (12.6), freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (10.8) and junior forward Blake Wallace (10.4) lead the balanced USF offensive assault. DONS AND RAMS GAME #6 SCOUTING COLORADO STATE: The Rams play their first road game of the 2008-09 season when they take on USF Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gym. Colorado State enters the weekend with a 3-2 record and snapped a two-game losing streak, by beating New Orleans 78-60 Wednesday in fort Collins. The Rams dropped back-to-back games against Minnesota (72-71) and Division II Saint Martin's (76-83). Through five games, CSU averages 79.0 points per game on .470 from the field to go along with an impressive 38.4 rebounds per contest. Senior guard Marcus Walker paces the Rams offensively with a team-high 16.6 points per game, while sophomore forward Andy Ogide adds 16.6 points and a team-best 9.6 boards per night. Tim Miles is in his second season as the top Ram and CSU posted a 7-25 record a year ago and went winless in Mountain West action. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 11/26/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 76.8 +11.6 .489 .418 .737 30.2 14.8 16.6 7.2 3.2 CSU 79.0 +10.2 .470 .378 .701 38.4 11.0 15.6 6.8 2.8 COLORADO STATE PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 11/26/08) LAST MEETING: USF 81, CSU 65 (12/29/67) - American Legion Tournament SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 2-0/USF won two ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF heads to Southern California for a two-game road trip beginning Monday, December 1 against USC at the Galen Center. The Dons then travel north for a Wednesday contest against Cal Poly at Mott Gym. 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 made his presence felt for USF in the early going. The Irvine Valley JC transfer ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.4), second in rebounds (3.8) and leads the team with nine 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. Hyman Taylor REBOUNDS: Junior center Hyman Taylor showed signs of developing into a force on the low block for USF last season and appears poised for more success in 2008-09. The Florida native made big strides in the paint for the Dons during the West Coast Conference season, averaging 3.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. Taylor ripped down a career-high 12 boards at Utah Valley State (12/31/07) - the most by a Don last season. Taylor posted his first career double-double with a career-high 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks against Santa Clara (1/28/08). Christian Hernandez READY FOR AN ENCORE: Junior guard Christian Hernandez made some big contributions for USF last season and figures prominently in the back court mix once again in 2008-09. The former walk-on averaged 12.8 minutes in 31 games and scored a career-high with nine points and a pair of assists in 23 minutes against Weber State (12/8/07). DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,194: San Francisco collected the 1,194th victory in program history in a 73-72 triumph against UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08). 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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