JOHN LINDROOS
In the highly anticipated Chase Center matchup between the Dons and the Gonzaga University Bulldogs on March 1, the Dons fell short of the win against Gonzaga 95-75.
Gonzaga won the tip off, giving them first possession of the game. Off a missed three point attempt by the Bulldogs, freshman guard Tyrone Riley IV caught a pass down the court to score the first points of
the game. From then on out the teams went shot for shot until Gonzaga’s 7-0 run gave them the lead 11-6. Senior guard Marcus Williams ended the run by Gonzaga with a post fade. Moments after, freshman guard Ryan Beasley followed up with a mid-range jumper. Gonzaga quickly responded with a wing three pointer by guard Ryan Nembhard. The Dons then come back and hit a three at the top of the key by Williams. After lots of back and forth with 3:16 left in the first half, the Dons found themselves down by nine at the hands of Gonzaga forward Ben Gregg splashing down a three pointer at the top of the key.
“It was an absolutely unreal experience, you can see the energy that was built up throughout the arena, and you can feel the tension within the air as the tip off began,” said Hamza Sami, first year economics major. “It’s a special moment that we get to come together as a school to support USF, especially with a game as big as this one. We feel like we are a part of something bigger than a school. It feels like a community in a way that truly made the experience a truly special one for everyone.” Nembhard and Beasley collided with one another. Beasley’s teammates helped him up, but he was unable to return to the game. Even as Williams hit a mid range jumper, the Dons found themselves down 15 at the half.
With the second half underway, the Dons needed to find some form of momentum to get the game under their control. Moments after a pair of free throws by sophomore forward Junjie
“Barry” Wang, center and grad student Carlton Linguard Jr. had a putback dunk off a missed layup by senior guard Malik Thomas. Gonzaga responded with another three pointer from guard Nolan Hickman and then seconds later got fouled on a play and hit two free throws extending the lead for the Bulldogs. A few buckets from Riley and Williams ended the Gonzaga run. Williams drove down and split the defense, landing a slam dunk.
Krrish Ghindani, a first year data science major, said, “It’s an exciting experience being at the Chase Center. It’s such an energetic crowd that I was able to be a part of and it made me feel that I was supporting the team, even though the end result wasn’t what we wanted. Being sur- rounded by all the people who support the team felt so surreal, which made it an overall incredible experience for everyone.” At the 15 minute mark, USF found themselves down by 18 points. Gregg buried a three pointer at the top of the key. The Dons attempted a comeback, but were quickly answered by a slew of three pointers from Gonzaga. No matter how much the Dons tried to get back into the game,
the Bulldogs always found ways to extend their lead. The Dons lost the game by a 20 point margin..
Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen said, “I want to first thank all of our fans, our students and the overall bay area basketball community for coming out tonight. ” he said. “[Gonzaga] controlled just the flow of that game pretty much from start to finish and that’s why they’re one of the best programs in the country.” USF finishes with the third seed in WCC standings and will play in the quarterfinal round on March 9 against the winner of the third round.
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, News Editor: Deeya Gupta, Sports Editor: John Lindroos
