Dec. 28, 2008
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USF CONCLUDES LONG DECEMBER ROAD TRIP MONDAY AT BOSTON COLLEGE: San Francisco's five-game December road trip concludes Monday night at Boston College. The Dons look to bounce back after dropping a disappointing 97-88 decision at Holy Cross on Saturday. USF led by 10 with seven minutes remaining, but could not seal the deal on the road. Now the Dons shift their focus to Boston College, a team with a sparkling 10-2 overall record, including an unblemished 8-0 mark in the Conte Forum. The Eagles have won seven straight with impressive wins against Iowa (57-55) at UMass (85-81) and Providence (81-76). Monday's showdown at Boston College in the first meeting between the two schools since the Dons dropped a 70-66 decision in the 1982 NCAA Tournament. DONS PARTICIPATE IN THE JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: USF is proud of its rich Jesuit heritage and the Dons East Coast road swing - at Holy Cross and Boston College - feature Jesuit opponents. San Francisco is taking part in the Jesuit Spotlight Project this season, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of the outstanding education available at the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. For more information, log on to www.ajcunet.edu/jesuitbasketball. EARLY RETURNS: With 13 games in the books, USF has demonstrated some positive tendencies to watch for in the upcoming contests. - Dons rank second in the WCC in 3-point field goal percentage at .383 (95-248) 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. After dropping a 66-60 loss at Pacific (12/9), the Dons bounced back for a 79-76 win at Boise State (12/13) before suffering a 82-76 decision at Bay Area rival San Jose State (12/22). After breaking for the Christmas holiday, USF opened its five-game road trip with a 97-88 loss at Holy Cross (12/27) and the road swing ends at Boston College (12/29). The Dons open 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. YAHOO ONLY BROADCASTS: Two 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 Boston College (11/29) and USF vs. Cal State East Bay (1/3/09). 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 final 2007-08 NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 20.5 points per game. 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 (19.9) ranks No. 35 among Division I leaders as of December 21, 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 Monday's contest at Holy Cross with 1,132 points with 902 coming at USF and 230 at Texas Tech. Last year, the San Franciscan ranked fourth in USF single-season scoring history in his first year on the Hilltop, finishing with 636 points. Manny Quezada NEARS 1,000 CAREER POINTS: 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 26 points Saturday at Holy Cross (12/27/08), Quezada finished with 988 points, moving into a share of 29th place on the career scoring list with Ken McAllister (1978-82). Quezada passed Booker T. Washington (1992-96, 963) and former Dons coach Bob Gaillard (1959-62, 976) against the Crusaders. 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). Last year in 31 games, Lowhorn and Quezada accounted for 34.4 points per game - .515 of the Dons total offense. Thirteen games into 2008-09, the duo averages 32.0 points per game, .443 of the team's 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 13 games at 11.9 per contest with 3.8 rebounds after a career-high 22 points at San Jose State (12/22/08). Junior Dontae Bryant adds 4.9 points and leads the team in assists at 3.5. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien has started eight games for USF and adds strong defense to go along with 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per contest. As a group, the newcomer guard trio averages 20.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: With 13 games in the books for 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 (20.5). Freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (11.9), senior guard Manny Quezada (11.4) and junior forward Blake Wallace (10.4) lead the balanced USF offensive assault. DONS AND EAGLES GAME #14 SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles enter Monday's game against USF with an impressive 10-2 overall record and have won seven straight contests and eight of their last 10. Boston College blew out Maine (99-61) in its final game before taking a six-day break for Christmas. The Eagles own a sparkling 8-0 record at home this season and through 12 games average 76.5 points on .462 shooting to go along with a whopping 39.8 rebounds per game. Senior guard Tyrese Rice paces BC at 16.2 points per game leading four Eagles in double-digit scoring. Sophomore forward Joe Trapani adds 14.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, while sophomore forward Corey Raji adds 13.2 points and a team-high 6.9 boards. Al Skinner is in his 11th season at Boston College and owns a 220-139 record as the Eagles handler and owns a career record of 358-265 in his 21st year. The 2001 National Coach of the Year, Skinner has guided BC to the postseason seven times. TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 12/28/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 72.2 +1.5 .462 .383 .686 31.5 13.8 14.6 5.7 2.5 BC 76.5 +11.3 .462 .349 .664 39.8 16.6 12.7 6.4 4.7 BOSTON COLLEGE PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 12/28/08) LAST MEETING: Boston College 70, USF 66 (3/12/82) - NCAA Tournament (Dallas) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: BC leads 1-0/BC won 1 ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: After taking on Boston College Monday night in Chestnut Hill, San Francisco returns home and celebrates the start of 2009 with a three-game homestand. The Dons welcome Cal State East Bay in their final non-conference tune-up January 3 in the first home game for USF since dispatching Long Beach State 78-74 in double overtime December 6. 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 fourth on the team in scoring (10.4), second in rebounds (4.8) and is third on the team with 17 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 second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game, leading all USF newcomers. Vaughn scored 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 in a win at Boise State (12/13/08) with 18 points. The East Bay product scored a career-high 22 points - 19 coming in the second half - at San Jose State (12/22/08). Angelo Caloiaro PROVIDES A BIG LIFT: Freshman forward Angelo Caloiaro has made an impact for the Dons in the early going and through 13 games averages 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 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 11 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 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and leads the team with 3.5 assists. The Oregonian has dished out at least four assists in seven games this season. DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 1,197: San Francisco collected the 1,197th victory in program history in a thrilling 79-76 road victory at Boise State (12/13/08). 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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