Dec. 8, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
USF BEGINS LONG DECEMBER ROAD TRIP: After improving to 4-0 at home with a 78-74 double overtime victory against Long Beach State, USF now hits the road for five consecutive road games to close out 2008, begining with a Tuesday night showdown at Pacific in the Spanos Center. The Dons play their third consecutive game against a Big West Conference foe and the fourth overall when it takes on the Tigers. San Francisco owns a 2-1 mark against the Big West with its only setback coming at Cal Poly (12/3/08) and looks to snap a three-game losing skid in the series against Pacific. The Dons look for their first road win since seizing a 75-70 victory at Hawaii (11/14/08) in the Verizon Wireless Tip-off Classic. DONS OFF TO BEST START SINCE 2004-05: After seizing a 78-74 double overtime triumph against Long Beach State (12/6/08), San Francisco stands at 6-3 on the season, including an unblemished 4-0 slate at War Memorial Gym. At 6-3, USF still boasts its best season opening surge since the 2004-05 squad opened non-conference play at 5-3, en route to a 7-3 record through 10 contests and its best start at War Memorial Gym since the 2004-05 team opened at an impressive 10-0 including a 73-70 victory against No. 11 Gonzaga (1/20/05). EARLY RETURNS: With nine games in the books, USF has demonstrated some positive tendencies to watch for in the upcoming contests. - USF limiting opponents to a .418 (205-491) field goal percentage LONG DECEMBER ROAD FOR THE DONS: San Francisco plays no fewer than eight of nine December contests on the road. The road began with a tough 74-69 loss at USC (12/1/08) in the Dons first game against the Trojans since the 1972-73 campaign. USF took a dramatic 78-74 double overtime victory against Long Beach State (12/6/08) in its lone home contest of the month. Now the Dons travel to Pacific (12/9) and Boise State (12/13) before returning to the Bay Area to take on ancient rival 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 match-up 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. Lowhorn (21.2) ranks No. 22 among Division I leaders as of December 8, 2008. LOWHORN SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS: With a 23-point night at USC (12/1/08) junior forward Dior Lowhorn surpassed 1,000 combined career points and enters Tuesday's contest at Pacific with 1,057 points with 827 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 season on the Hilltop, 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 10 points Saturday against Long Beach State (12/6/08), Quezada sits in 34th place on the career scoring chart with 930. Wilson Stephens (1990-94) sits at No. 33 with 954 points. 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. Nine games into the 2008-09 campaign, the duo averages 31.4 points per game, .445 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 second on the team in scoring through nine games at 10.7 per contest with 3.4 rebounds after a big 13-point night eight rebound night against Long Beach State (12/6/08). Junior Dontae Bryant adds 4.3 points and ranks second on the team in assists at 3.4. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien has started eight games for USF and adds strong defense to go along with 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest. As a group, the newcomer guard trio averages 18.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: Nine 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 (21.2). Junior forward Blake Wallace (10.7), freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (10.7) and senior guard Manny Quezada (10.2) lead the balanced USF offensive assault. DONS AND TIGERS GAME #10 SCOUTING PACIFIC: The Tigers enter Tuesday's game against USF with a 3-3 overall record and have split their last two games, taking down Cal State Bakersfield (67-63) before dropping a last second loss to Fresno State (66-64) on a buzzer-beater. Pacific posted an impressive road win at Nevada (67-59) and through six games averages 62.3 points per game on .431 shooting from the floor. No Tiger averages double-digit scoring, but no fewer than eight players score at least 5.3 points per game, led by senior forward Anthony Brown at 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds. Senior forward Bryan LeDuc chips in 9.8 points and 3.7 boards off the bench, while sophomore center Sam Willard adds 8.8 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per night. Head coach Bob Thomason is in his 21st year in Stockton at his alma mater and owns a 398-280 career record (24th season) and is 346-253 as the top Tiger. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 12/7/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 70.7 +4.2 .445 .345 .690 33.6 13.2 15.8 5.8 2.8 UOP 62.3 -2.0 .431 .278 .629 30.8 11.5 13.2 60 1.5 PACIFIC PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 12/7/08) LAST MEETING: Pacific 84, at USF 57 (12/5/07) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 61-27/UOP won three ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: After taking on Pacific Tuesday night at the Spanos Center, San Francisco travels to Boise for a showdown with defending WAC Champion Boise State Saturday, December 13 at Taco Bell Arena. The Dons then break for semester finals and return to action in the South Bay at San Jose State December 22. 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 already made an impact for USF in the early going. The Irvine Valley JC transfer ranks second on the team in scoring (10.7), second in rebounds (5.1) and leads the team with 13 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) and turned in his first USF double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in a double overtime win against Long Beach State (12/6/08). 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 third on the team in scoring at 10.7 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). Vaughn turned in a strong performance against Long Beach State (12/6/08), scoring 13 points with a career-high eight rebounds and made key plays down the stretch in the double overtime triumph. Angelo Caloiaro PROVIDES A BIG LIFT: Freshman forward Angelo Caloiaro has made an impact for the Dons in the early going and through nine games averages 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Caloiaro scored a career-high 15 points in a win against UC Santa Barbara (11/24/08) and 14 points with a career-high seven rebounds against Colorado State (11/29/08). The Mitty product has made 10 3-pointers. Dontae Bryant DRIVES AND DISHES: Junior guard Dontae Bryant has done a solid job quarterbacking the USF offense in his first season in the Green and Gold. Bryant averages 4.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, ranks second on the team with 3.4 assists. The Oregonian has dished out at least four assists in five games this season. DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,196: San Francisco collected the 1,196th victory in program history in a thrilling 78-74 double overtime triumph against Long Beach State (12/6/08). In the 95th season of Division I basketball on the Hilltop, the Dons have their eyes set on 1,200 all-time wins.
|
|
