JOHN LINDROOS
The men’s basketball team concluded their 2024-2025 season on March 24, in a narrow 76-77 loss in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) vs the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers at the Sobrato Center.
The Dons were short handed, missing three key players. Freshman guard Tyrone Riley hyperextended his knee during the Utah Valley University (UVU) game on March 19, and sophomore guard Ryan Beasley, who put up 19 points and six assists against UVU, sat out with a foot injury. Senior guard Marcus Williams is currently suspended indefinitely by the team for violating NCAA rules.
The Dons jumped to a 12-5 lead within the first five minutes, but the Ramblers responded with a 23-3 run fueled by four triples. USF trailed by 13 points in the first half, but senior guard Malik Thomas began pushing the pace off defensive rebounds, leading to easier fastbreak opportunities. By halftime, the Dons closed the gap to just a 32-36 deficit.
Center and grad student Carlton Linguard Jr. helped keep the Dons within reach with two jumpers and a tipped layup entering the second half.
The Ramblers’ held a steady lead until halfway through the 13 minute mark, when the Dons regained the lead as senior guard Robby Beasley found Thomas cutting to the rim off a back screen, leading to an and-one contested layup finish.
The second half proved to be a battle between Thomas and Ramblers’ guard Jayden Dawson, with the two scoring 24 and 21 points respectively in the final 20 minutes. Both finished the game with career-high scoring nights, with Thomas finishing with 36 points and Dawson finishing with 35.
The two teams went back and forth in the final 10 minutes, with Dawson and Thomas exchanging jumpers and free throws.
Heading into the final three minutes, Thomas drew a foul that resulted in two made free throws, pushing the USF lead 73-70. Dawson countered with a layup on the other end. Following a missed USF attempt, Dawson converted a triple to put the Ramblers up 75-73. In response, Thomas knocked down a top-of-the-arc three-pointer to put his team up one. In the last minute, Dawson finished a left-side drive over the top of Linguard Jr., giving the Ramblers’ a one point lead.
The two teams missed both of their attempts in the next two possessions, with freshman forward Veniamin Abosi swatting away Dawson’s layup attempt out of bounds with 15 seconds left.
In the final play, with the Ramblers’ inbounding and the shot clock below five seconds, Dawson caught the ball up top and shot a contested fadeaway three that bounced off the back iron. Linguard Jr. secured the rebound and handed Thomas the ball. Dribbling down the court, with the crowd on their feet, Thomas crossed over to the left and made his way to the rim, and leaned towards the other side of the rim for a right-handed layup attempt that just hit the left side, missing.
Sophomore forward Jason-Rivera Torres was able to get a hand on the ball to try to tip it back in, missing the first attempt and regaining possession, but time ran out before he could attempt a second time.
With the final buzzer, USF was eliminated from the NIT in a one point loss to the Ramblers.
“Our guys left everything out on the floor today,” said Head Coach Chris Gerlufsen. “That was a one bounce game. Different bounce one way or the other, and we probably walk out of here victorious. […] I thought [on the] last play of the game, we got downhill, got the ball to the rim, couldn’t ask for more and just came up a little short.”
In his final game of his collegiate career, Thomas left it all on the court playing all 40 minutes of the game, scoring a career high 36 points and adding five assists, seven rebounds, and shooting an impressive 17 of 17 from the free throw line.
In the post game interview, Gerlufsen said, “Malik is pretty distraught with the last play, and I have to remind him and remind our group if he didn’t play the way he played we wouldn’t have been in a position to win,” he said.
Regarding the battle between Thomas and Dawson, Gerlufsen said, “Those two guys probably should’ve went to a local park and played one on one, it was just a lot of back and forth.”
With the conclusion of the season, USF finished with 25 regular season wins for the first time since the 1981-82 season. In the postseason, the team lost to Gonzaga in the WCC conference tournament quarterfinals and now a second round exit vs Loyola Chicago in the NIT.
Now entering into the offseason, USF will look to make moves to improve the team. The team will lose a large portion of their players due to graduation, including Thomas, Williams, Linguard Jr, and Robby Beasley, which will give players like Ryan Beasley and Riley more opportunities to shine and open room for outside additions.
Gerlufsen said, “We’re trying to make a jump as a program and take steps. […] We’re close to having that breakthrough, but we need to have a heck of an offseason and just continue to build.”
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, News Editor: Deeya Gupta, Sports Editor: John Lindroos
