March 8, 2008

Complete Santa Clara WCC Tournament Game Notes in PDF Format

NO. 5 USF REACHES 2008 WCC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS: San Francisco won its third straight and fourth out of its last five with a 79-60 victory against No. 8 seed Loyola Marymount Friday night in the opening round of the 2008 West Coast Conference Tournament. USF takes on ancient Bay Area rival Santa Clara in Saturday's 6:00 PM quarterfinal contest at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Dons posted their first WCC Tournament triumph since taking down Portland 65-60 in the opening round of the 2005 event. USF faces the Broncos in the WCC Tournament for the seventh time and the first since dropping a 67-60 decision in 2005 quarterfinals. The Dons are 2-5 against Santa Clara in the league's postseason showcase and have lost the last three meetings. San Francisco last beat the Broncos in an 85-83 decision in the 1998 semifinals en route to the tournament title.

BROADCASTING NOTE: USF's Saturday quarterfinal game against Santa Clara will be available live on Yahoo Broadcast and Green 960 in its entirety at 6:00 PM from the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Dior Lowhorn - 2008 WCC FIRST TEAM AND LEAGUE SCORING LEADER: After sitting out the entire 2006-07 season under NCAA transfer rules, sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn is making up for lost time. The Texas Tech transfer and Bay Area native averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Red Raiders. Lowhorn was named NorCal Player of the Year also captured "Bay Area Player of the Year" honors from the Oakland Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle following his senior campaign at Berkeley High School. Lowhorn scored 26 points at Oklahoma (11/8/07) in his Dons debut and turned in his first USF double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds against East Central (11/9/07). Lowhorn poured in a career-high 30 points in his home debut against Sacramento State (11/17/07) en route to West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. Lowhorn scored 29 points with seven rebounds at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Lowhorn has scored at least 20 points in 18 of 30 games and has registered 19 points six times. On the year, Lowhorn averages a team- and WCC-high 20.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. For his efforts, Lowhorn earned 2008 All-WCC First Team selection.

Dior Lowhorn AMONG NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS: Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn ranks No. 29 among NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 20.5 points per game, as of March 3, 2008. Lowhorn is the first Don to crack the top-30 on the NCAA scoring list since John Cox (1999-05) accomplished the feat as a senior.

WELCOME BACK VINCE: Senior forward Vince Polakovic made the most of his delayed 2008 debut, scoring 18 points with six rebounds against Gonzaga (2/16/08). Polakovic poured in a 20 points in a 73-60 win against Portland (2/18/08), registered 23 in a win against Loyola Marymount (3/1/08) and poured in a career-high 24 against Pepperdine (3/3/08). In six games back, Polakovic averages 17.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Manny Quezada LEADS DONS OFFENSE: Junior guard Manny Quezada was named one of six West Coast Conference "Players to Watch" by the league's coaches. In his first season after transferring from Rutgers, Quezada ranked 11th among WCC scoring leaders (13.2) to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Capable of instant offense, Quezada tossed in 28 second half points en route to a career-high 35 points, at Saint Mary's (2/19/07). Quezada notched his second career 30-point game with a 30-point outburst at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07) and turned in his first double-double at Pepperdine (2/2/08) with 11 points and a career-high 12 assists. The New York native averages 14.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Quezada ranks seventh in scoring and third in assists among WCC leaders.

DONS TWO-HEADED MONSTER: USF's one-two punch of sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn and junior guard Manny Quezada made their 2007-08 regular season debuts at Oklahoma in opening round action of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic, benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The duo, combined for 39 of San Francisco's 55 points in a 71-55 loss against the Sooners, accounting for a remarkable .701 of the team's offensive output. The pair combined for 59 points at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07) and chipped in 50 of USF's 79 points against LMU (3/7/08) in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament. Through 30 games, Lowhorn and Quezada account for 34.9 points per game - .519 of the Dons total offense.

USF DONS ON GREEN 960 AM: USF men's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2007-2008 season and all games will be available live at USFDons.com, while all games starting after 7:00 PM (PT) will air live on Green 960 AM. Join Pat Olson for the play-by-play in his 17th year behind the microphone courtside. USF Hall-of-Famer Jim Brovelli will join Olson on selected broadcasts. Other features available on USFDons.com include GameTracker, courtesy of CSTV.com with live play-by-play of all non-televised home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast.

A LOOK AHEAD: The winner of the No. 5 USF vs. No. 8 Loyola Marymount game on Friday will take on No. 4 Santa Clara Saturday at 6:00 PM at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

GAME #31/WCC TOURNAMENT - QUARTERFINALS
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos enter the 2008 West Coast Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed after posting a regular season overall record of 14-15 and a 6-8 league slate. Santa Clara dropped back-to-back games to close the regular season, including an 64-58 loss at Portland and a 88-54 setback at San Gonzaga. The last win for the Broncos came in a 87-55 win against the Dons Feb. 25 at the Leavey Center. Junior center John Bryant leads the way for the Broncos with 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, while senior guard Brody Angley adds 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Through 29 games, the Broncos average 63.7 points per game on .488 from the field, including .380 (145-382) from 3-point range. Santa Clara opponents tally 61.1 points per game on .409 from the floor, .364 from long distance. Kerry Keating is in his first season at the Bronco boss - his first head coaching assignment - and owns an overall career record of 13-12. The former UCLA assistant helped the Bruins to consecutive NCAA Final Fours.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 HEAD TO HEAD (As of 3/7/08):
Team	PPG	Margin	FG%	3-FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	SPG	BPG
USF	51.5	-25.0	.365	.185	.688	27.0	11.0	14.5	7.5	3.0
SCU	76.5	+25.0	.589	.525	.833	30.0	19.5	15.0	7.0	4.0
TEAM COMPARISONS - 2007-08 SEASON  (As of 3/7/08):
Team	PPG	Margin	FG%	3-FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	SPG	BPG
USF	67.3	-5.3	.444	.331	.704	32.1	12.4	15.5	5.9	2.8
SCU	63.9	+1.8	.485	.394	.708	32.0	14.4	16.3	5.2	3.6

LAST FOUR MEETINGS: at SCU 87, USF 55 (2/25/08); SCU 66, at USF 48 (1/28/08); at SCU 74, USF 62 (2/5/07); SCU 61, at USF 58 (1/22/07)

SERIES RECORD/STREAK: SCU leads 101-93/SCU won 5

WCC TOURNAMENT SERIES RECORD: SCU leads 5-2

WCC TOURNAMENT SERIES RESULTS:
No. 3 SCU 67, No. 6 USF 60 (3/5/05) - Santa Clara (Quarters)
Tyrone Riley 18 points, John Cox 17 points
No. 5 SCU 81, No. 4 USF 75 (2004) - Santa Clara (Semis)
No. 4 SCU 63, No. 5 USF 48 (2000) - Santa Clara
No. 5 USF 85, No. 3 SCU 83 (3/1/98) - Santa Clara (Semis)
Hakeem Ward 23 points, Damian Cantrell 13 points
No. 3 USF 76, No. 6 SCU 74 (3/5/94) - Santa Clara
Gerald Walker 25 points, Kent Bennett 18 points, 13 reb.
No. 5 SCU 69, No. 4 USF 64 (3/4/89) - San Francisco
Joel DeBortoli 23 points, Mark McCathrion 20 points
No. 3 SCU 90, No. 6 USF 88 (3/5) - Santa Clara Mark McCathrion 22 points, Rodney Tention 15 points

ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:
Radio Broadcast: Green 960
Television: None
Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast)
GameTracker: Yes
SCU Official Website: SantaClaraBroncos.com

DONS AND BRONCOS - WCC TOURNAMENT BULLETS:
- USF and Santa Clara have met seven times in the West Coast Conference Tournament with six showdowns occurring on the Broncos home floor
- Santa Clara owns a 4-2 record at Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center when hosting the WCC Tournament contests against the Dons and is 1-0 at War Memorial Gym
- No. 5 USF defeated No. 3 Santa Clara in the semifinals of the 1998 event en route to the tournament title. Tournament MVP Hakeem Ward scored 23 points to lift the Dons to their first NCAA appearance since 1982
- Santa Clara has won the last three meetings in the WCC Tournament, including a 67-60 victory in the 2005 quarterfinals

LOWHORN CHASING DONS ALL-AMERICANS: Sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn is enjoying one of the most prolific offensive seasons in program history and enters the 2008 West Coast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals with 626 points (20.9), good for a sixth place on the single-season scoring list. Lowhorn needs just two points to pass USF Hall-of-Famer Ollie Johnson, who scored 627 in 1964-65, for fifth place and needs three to pass All-American Winford Boynes, who scored 628 in 1977-78. Lowhorn is the Dons leading scorer since the return of basketball in 1985-86. Quintin Dailey owns the top spot, scoring 755 points in 1981-82 (25.2).

USF IN THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: After dispatching Loyola Marymount 79-60 in the opening round of the 2008 event, USF owns an overall record of 12-20 in the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Dons won the event in 1998 as the No. 5 seed, defeating Gonzaga 80-67 in the finals at Santa Clara. After winning the league's automatic berth and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1982, San Francisco owns a 2-9 record in the event since 1999. USF's last previous win came in 2005 when No. 6 USF dispatched No. 7 Portland 65-60 in the opening round.

USF VS. THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE - TOURNAMENT SERIES RECORDS: Gonzaga 1-0, Loyola Marymount 4-0; Pepperdine 0-5, Portland 2-1, Saint Mary's 1-3, San Diego 2-6, Santa Clara 2-5