By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
The USF men’s basketball team was thrilled to leave February in its rear-view mirror.
The Dons welcomed March by playing air-tight defense to claim a 67-51 victory over San Diego on Thursday in the opening round of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The Dons had lost their past six games, all rhythm and momentum derailed by a three-game paused for COVID-19.
“The month of February was kind of tough for us,” said senior guard
Jamaree Bouyea, who had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. “This was definitely a building win.”
By limiting the Toreros (3-11) to 33-percent shooting, the Dons (11-13) gave themselves the chance to play in Friday’s 6 p.m. second-round game against Loyola Marymount (12-8).
“We guarded really well,” USF coach
Todd Golden said. “We were on the glass. I’m incredible excited for the opportunity to play LMU tomorrow night.
“There’s an advantage for us now moving forward. LMU will come in a little cold. For us, just a confidence builder. We got closer to where we were shooting the ball before we went on our break. Jamaree and his teammate were playing free tonight.”
The Dons, who shot just 27 percent from the 3-point the previous six games, made 33 percent against San Diego. Not great, but better.
It certainly was enough when coupled with a stout defensive effort. The eighth-seeded Dons held USD to 27-percent shooting in the first half while sculpting a 30-17 lead.
“They did a great job defensively on us tonight,” Toreros coach
Sam Scholl said.
The margin reached 55-28 after a 3-point basket by
Julian Rishwain with 8:38 to play.
LMU beat the Dons twice by single-digit margins during the regular season. The Lions won the rebounding battle in both.
“The key is keeping them out of the paint,” Bouyea said. “They have some big guys. If we knock down shots and play defense, we can definitely make some noise.”
RYUNY’S BIG DUNK: The Dons already were playing with plenty of spirit when
Dzmitry Ryuny, a 6-foot-9 junior from Belarus, dashed into the lane and threw down a monstrous one-handed dunk. But that play proved a 29-11 lead and electrified his teammates.
“One of the best dunks I’ve probably seen in my career here. It was amazing,” Bouyea said. “We were all screaming. It got our energy up for sure.”
Golden, acknowledging he never had a dunk during his playing days at Saint Mary’s, called the play “awesome” and said he was happy for Ryuny.
“He was one of the guys in our program that was most affected by COVID,” Golden said. “He simply hadn’t been playing at the same level. It was really tough on him Being good matters a lot to him. For him to be playing so well before the break and come out after and not be able to find that was tough on him. The dunk got him going.”
Ryuny finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
TOREROS’ BRIEF SEASON IS OVER: Only a half-dozen Division I teams in the country played fewer games than San Diego, which endured repeated disruptions caused by the pandemic. The Toreros won exactly one game each in December, January and February.
But Scholl had only good things to say about his players afterward.
“Proud of our guys’ resilience, proud of their discipline and mental toughness. I’m proud of them for showing up every day with a good attitude in pursuit of trying to be the best versions of themselves every day,” he said.
“The games we played certainly serve as an evaluation tool. They were opportunities for us to compete. I have a good feel of what we have moving forward, where we need to get better and what we need to develop.”
STAT OF THE GAME: San Diego shot just 12 percent from the 3-point arc, making 2 of 17 attempts from distance.
QUOTE OF THE GAME: “I’m really proud of my guys. It’s been a really challenging month for us and we haven’t been playing great. They state the course. Their attitudes have been awesome, they’ve been super-coachable and they kept believing in what we’re doing.” — USF coach
Todd Golden on his team snapping its six-game losing streak.