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Interesting article we found: San Francisco 0, Pepperdine 3   – USA Today

Dons-Waves   Preview

GAME NOTES: The San Francisco Dons try to get back into the win column tonight as they open up West Coast Conference play against the Pepperdine Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The Dons began the month of December with four straight victories, although two came against schools outside of Division I (Pacific Union and Menlo College), and then came a meeting with Holy Cross a week ago that ended in an 88-83 setback on the road. It was the first true road loss of the campaign for USF, a team which is nearly perfect at home at 6-1 thus far.

As for the Waves, they took part in the Cougar Hardwood Classic last week and suffered a 67-56 loss to Washington State in the event. The setback was the second in the last three games for the team and leaves Pepperdine just a game over .500 overall at 6-5 with the new calendar year just around the corner.

San Francisco won the most recent meeting last season, a 76-59 triumph the first week of March in Las Vegas, as well as a narrow 79-78 final in overtime a few weeks prior. As a result, the Dons now lead the all-time series by a count of 68-49.

Against Holy Cross on the other side of the continent last week, the Dons forced a staggering 28 turnovers yet still suffered the five-point loss as the hosts were allowed to connect on 58.1 percent from the floor and outscored USF at the charity stripe, 30-15. Before fouling out, Rashad Green registered a game-high with 23 points, adding seven rebounds, while fellow starters Angelo Caloiaro (16 points), Perris Blackwell (14) and Dominique O’Connor (10) also tried to keep the Dons close. After 13 games, the Dons have a total of four players scoring in double digits, the group led by Caloiaro who is producing 13.7 ppg and is also tops on the unit with close to seven rebounds per game as well. Green, a 43.2 percent shooter beyond the arc, accounts for another 12.4 ppg as the program generates 73.0 ppg.

Pepperdine wasn’t anywhere near prepared to hit the floor against the Cougars last week, as the Waves scored a grand total of just 15 points in the first 20 minutes of action and trailed by double digits at the break. Corbin Moore tried to keep the visitors close with his 14 points and 11 rebounds, both of which were team highs, while Taylor Darby recorded a double-double of his own with 13 points and 10 boards in the setback. Joshua Lowery accounted for 12 points but shot only 3-of-9 from the floor, the team converting a woeful 35.6 percent from the field and 4-of-15 behind the three-point line. Darby, who has registered double-doubles in two straight games and three times overall this season, leads the Waves with his 12.1 ppg, while his 7.0 rpg are second only to Moore (10.5 ppg) who is responsible for 8.5 rpg. Pepperdine is being limited to only 60.7 ppg, but the good news is that the team is giving up just 60.5 ppg at the same time.

Even though they are on the road for this one, the Dons have more players that they can turn to in order to squeeze out more offense and that should be the difference.

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San Francisco 0, Pepperdine 3   – USA Today