USD CAN’T HANG ON VS. USF DOWN STRETCH

San Francisco 70, Toreros 62

COVID complications limited USD to just four games before opening West Coast Conference play Thursday on the road against a San Francisco team that upset then-No. 4-ranked Virginia.

The Dons were one of only 13 Division I teams to have played 10 nonconference games.

For 30 minutes it looked like the 131⁄ 2- point underdog Toreros might pull off an upset, but the visitors proved to be poor closers as USF rallied for a 70-62 win at War Memorial Gymnasium.

USD led by 10 points in the first half. They were still up by two with 10:40 to play. But a 15-4 run by the Dons was the turning point.

Jamaree Bouyea, a lightning quick 6-foot-2 guard, started the run with a driving bucket.

He closed it with a 3-pointer. Bouyea came in averaging 18 points, shooting 54.9 percent from the field. USD held him to six in the first half. But the senior broke out in the second half, finishing with a game-high 24 points.

“He’s an outstanding story of a guy who’s worked his tail off to become a phenomenal guard,” USD head coach Sam Scholl said by phone. “You can’t give him space. He’s going to make 3s. (Bouyea came in shooting 45.7 percent behind the arc.)

“You’ve got to press up on him, make shots hard on him in the paint. He’s a tremendous, tremendous

player.”

The Dons (7-4, 1-0) came in averaging 31.4 3-point attempts per game. They averaged 13.8 makes in their six wins and just 8.5 in the four losses.

Playing man-for-man defense until foul trouble set in midway through the second half, USD defended the deep ball well. USF finished 6-of-20 beyond the arc.

“USF is an elite 3-point shooting team,” said Scholl, whose team fell to 1-4 and 0-1. “The job we did defending the 3 gave us an opportunity to win.”

The difference came at the foul line. USF was in the bonus with 9:04 to play and finished 18 of 24 from the stripe. USD was 9 of 15.

Three USD players players scored in double figures, led by Rice graduate transfer Josh Parrish with 15. Joey Calcaterra scored 14 and Yauhen Massalski 12. Parrish led USD with eight rebounds.

Bouyea was the only USF player in double figures but four others combined for 33 points.

Toreros point guard Marion Humphrey did not play because of a sprained ankle. Scholl said he may play Saturday against BYU.