Despite opportunities, Dons can’t stop Broncos

USF showed some offensive potency in the second half Thursday night. The Dons played small and quick. Their guards created penetration. They knocked down some threes.

The problem: It came after a first half in which they were held to 19 points by Santa Clara. USF spent the second half trying to catch up and couldn’t, falling 65-62 on the Hilltop.

The Dons have offset quiet offense with stingy defense much of the season. But it was the Broncos whom USF head coach Kyle Smith credited with clamping down early Thursday.

“They guarded us well,” Smith said. “They bothered us. In the second half, we responded.”

Down by 10 early in the second half, USF (10-10, 2-5 WCC) had several chances to close the gap.

Guard Frankie Ferrari’s layup off a turnover cut the Dons’ deficit to 46-43 with just less than nine minutes left. Freshman guard Souley Boum, USF’s top scorer this season, missed a three-point attempt on the Dons’ next possession.

A Boum layup at the 5:27 mark cut the Broncos’ edge to 49-48. KJ Feagin, Santa Clara’s junior guard and leading scorer, then nailed a threepointer to stretch the Broncos’ lead to four.

Down 55-52 with less than two minutes left, Nate Renfro pulled up for an open threepoint look from the right wing. Renfro’s attempt clanged off the iron and the Dons did not see another chance to tie the game.

“We got some good shots that I thought would put some pressure on them,” Smith said, “but you’ve got to step up and do that. You’ve got to make them.”

The Broncos (7-12, 4-3), who entered the game as the lowest-scoring team in the WCC, shot 50 percent from the field and were 8-for-10 from the foul line in the final 1:07 to seal the victory.

Feagin scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. Senior Henry Caruso added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

USF had two players in double figures: Ferrari (13 points) and forward Matt McCarthy (10). The Dons forced 18 turnovers that led to 21 points and shot 41 percent from the floor.

Both teams ran deliberate sets early and played good defense. As the pace began to pick up, shots fell less often.

After Feagin hit a pull-up jumper to give Santa Clara a 20-14 lead with 8:48 left in the first half, Santa Clara did not score for the next 5 minutes, 41 seconds.

But even with that reprieve, USF could not fully erase the deficit. Renfro’s emphatic two-handed slam at the 3:55 mark brought an antsy crowd of 1,508 to its feet and drew a foul, and Renfro’s free throw made it 20-19.

Those were the Dons’ final points of the half. Santa Clara guard Matt Hauser made a three-pointer with 3:07 left to end their scoring drought and nailed a pull-up jumper just before the buzzer to give his team an eight-point lead going into the break.

Without senior swingman Chase Foster (ankle injury) and 6-foot-9 freshman Taavi Jurkatamm (concussion), USF lost for the fourth time in five games.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging,” Smith said. “Get better.”