Nov. 29, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
USF TRAVELS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Fresh off a unblemished 3-0 homestand, San Francisco opens December with a two-game road trip to Southern California, beginning Monday, December 1 against USC at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. It is the first meeting between the Dons and Trojans in more than three decades. USF then travels north to tackle Cal Poly Wednesday, December 3 in San Luis Obispo at Mott Gym. It is the first time the two teams have squared off since the 2000-01 campaign. Including the Dons Saturday matinee against Colorado State, USF continues a challenging stretch of the schedule where it plays three games in five days. DONS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 1999-00: After seizing a 65-63 win against Colorado State (11/29/08) to close out a perfect 3-0 homestand, USF continued its strong start, improving to 5-1. The Dons boast their best season opening surge since the 1999-00 squad blazed through the non-conference slate at 12-1. San Francisco's only loss during the non-conference slate that year came in a 71-61 setback at Maryland in the opening game of the 1999 Preseason NIT. EARLY RETURNS: With six games in the books, USF has demonstrated some positive tendencies to watch for in the upcoming contests. - USF shooting at a .484 (155-320) clip from the field EXTENDED ROAD TRIP AWAITS THE DONS: After Saturday's 65-63 victory against Colorado State, USF plays 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). 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) did so as a senior. The NCAA releases its first 2008-09 basketball rankings December 1. LOWHORN CLOSING ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Junior forward Dior Lowhorn is closing in on 1,000 combined career points and enters Monday's contest at USC with 987 points with 757 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 three points Saturday against Colorado State (11/29/08), Quezada finished with 904 career points and remains in 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. Six games into the 2008-09 campaign, the duo averages 31.2 points per game, .416 of the team's scoring output. NEW FACES PRODUCING IN THE DONS BACKCOURT: Three backcourt newcomers are making their presence felt for USF in their first year in the Green and Gold. Freshman East Bay product Kwame Vaughn ranks fourth on the team in scoring through six games at 10.8 per contest with 2.7 rebounds. Junior Dontae Bryant adds 5.2 points and ranks second on the team in assists at 3.8. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien has started all six games for USF and adds strong defense to go along with 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. As a group, the newcomer guard trio averages 19.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: Six 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 (20.2). Junior forward Blake Wallace (11.2), senior guard Manny Quezada (11.0) and freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (10.8) lead the balanced USF offensive assault. DONS vs. TROJANS NOTES: GAME #7 SCOUTING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The Trojans enter Monday's game against USF with a 4-2 overall record after defeating Tennessee-Martin 70-43 Friday night in the Galen Center. USC competed in the 2008 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic and went 1-2 falling to Seton Hall (63-61) and Missouri (83-72) and dispatched Chattanooga 73-46 in game two. Through six games, USC averages 71.2 points per game on .449 from the field to go along with a remarkable 44.8 rebounds per contest. Junior forward Taj Gibson paces the Trojans offensively with a team-high 16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, while junior guard Dwight Lewis adds 15.0 points per night. Former NBA head coach Tim Floyd is in his fourth season as the USC boss and guided the club to a 21-12 overall record, 11-7 in the demanding Pac-10, good for a share of third place a year ago. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 11/30/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 74.8 +10.0 .484 .394 .731 30.8 14.2 16.0 6.2 3.3 USC 71.2 +12.8 .449 .299 .639 44.8 14.7 16.7 7.2 7.3 USC PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 11/30/08) LAST MEETING: at USC 102, USF 82 (12/4/72) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USC leads 14-5/USC won two ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: USF travels north up the Pacific coast for a Wednesday contest against Cal Poly at Mott Gym. It is the first meeting between the two teams in nearly eight years, when the Dons claimed a 71-69 victory December 9, 2000 at War Memorial 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 an impact for USF in the early going. The Irvine Valley JC transfer ranks second on the team in scoring (11.2), 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. Wallace scored 15 points in a 65-63 win against Colorado State (11/29/08). Kwame Vaughn PROVIDING BIG SPARK FOR THE DONS: Freshman guard Kwame Vaughn has shown signs of developing into a clutch player for USF. The Oakland native ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game, leading all reserves. Vaughn scored a career-high 17 points against Texas State (11/16/08) and added 11 points in back-to-back wins versus UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08) and Colorado State (11/29/08). 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). DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,195: San Francisco collected the 1,195th victory in program history in a 65-63 triumph against Colorado State (11/29/08). 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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