The Dons men’s basketball team had a challenging and eventful week, battling Gonzaga at Chase Center on Feb. 18 and hosting senior night against Santa Clara on Feb. 21.
At the home of the Warriors, the Dons entered the game with a 15-13 record, good for fifth in the WCC. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, boasted a 25-2 record, placing themselves first in the conference.
The game tipped off with a strong effort from Gonzaga, leading 14-6. USF responded with an 11-0 run, leading 17-14, which was fueled by a couple transition buckets and capped off by a wing three pointer by sophomore guard Tyrone Riley IV. Despite the run, Gonzaga answered with a run of their own and by the end of the first half, the Bulldogs led 41-29.
Throughout the second half, they continued their run, pushing the lead to 20. Gonzaga forward Graham Ike proved too much for USF’s defense, knocking down several faceup jumpers, finishing with 22 points on 10-17 shooting. In his return from injury, Riley led USF with 16 points and added two triples. Junior guard Mookie Cook led the bench unit with 12 points, going 7-9 from the free throw line.
In the post game interview, Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen said, “I thought in that first half there were segments of the half where we had the game in a manageable region…Unfortunately, soon after, David Fuchs got a second foul that kind of changed the momentum of the game,” he said. “And they went on a scoring run like they do to a lot of teams.”
Entering their last home game of the season on Feb. 21, the Sobrato Center was packed with energy, as they celebrated senior night in which they commemorate all of the seniors of the men’s basketball team. Before the start of the game, seniors Vukasin Masic and Guillermo Diaz Graham walked out with their families as they were applauded by the entire crowd.
As the game began right from the tip off, the two teams traded buckets with ease. After five minutes of play, the Dons held a 16-15 lead. Following a timeout, Santa Clara went on a 7-0 run, resulting in a timeout called by Gerlufsen. With about five minutes left in the first half after another run by Santa Clara, they held a commanding 37 to 24 lead. However, after several consistent defensive possessions, junior guard Ryan Beasley sunk a deep three at the buzzer to cut the lead down to six with Santa Clara leading 44-38.
