USF in the Chiles Center

GETTING INSIDE

San Francisco’s 71-68 victory over Santa Clara on Feb. 20 left the Dons and their coach, Rex Walters, with ambivalent feelings.

The bottom line was all positive. It was the Dons’ fifth victory in their last six games, and they are playing their best basketball with the West Coast Conference tournament right around the corner.

The Dons moved a giant step closer to assuring themselves a top-four seed in the WCC tournament, which is significant because the top four receive a first-round bye.

USF would move into a third-place if it beats Portland on the road on Feb. 25.

San Francisco’s defense has improved, Dior Lowhorn has regained his scoring touch after a midseason slump, and Angelo Caloiaro has become one of the top 3-point threats in the conference.

Without question, the season is unfolding as well as Walters could have hoped, especially considering where San Francisco stood a month ago.

On the other hand, Walters was not pleased with the way his team handled itself down the stretch of the game against Santa Clara.

After taking control of the game midway through the second half, USF held a 16-point lead with 8:32 remaining. There seemed to be no way the Broncos, who were 3-8 in conference play at the time, could challenge the Dons at that point.

But the Dons suddenly went dead in the water, and as Santa Clara made its comeback, the Dons showed more and more signs of panic and lost composure. The Broncos tied it and had two chances in the final 15 seconds to win, but the game went to overtime.

In the extra session, USF took control early but again nearly let it slip away. The Broncos had a chance to take the lead in the closing seconds, trailing by one.

After Lowhorn hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left to give USF a three-point lead, the Dons allowed Ben Dowdell to get a decent look at a 3-point shot that would have tied it.

It missed, and USF survived, but Walters needs his team to react better in tense situations.

NOTES, QUOTES

—The last three games against local rival Santa Clara have come down the final possession. In the final meeting last season, USF won 67-66 in overtime, and in their first game this season, Santa Clara won 66-65. Then came the overtime game on Feb. 20 won by USF, 71-68.

• To get one of the top four seeds in the WCC tournament, USF needs only to finish ahead of or tied with Loyola Marymount, which is one game behind the Dons with two games left. For the Dons to fall to the fifth seed, Loyola Marymount would have to beat Santa Clara and St. Mary’s on the road, and USF would have to lose to Portland and Gonzaga on the road. If they finish tied, USF would get the No. 4 seed because it won both games against the Lions during the season.

• The Feb. 20 victory over Santa Clara gave San Francisco its first three-game winning streak of the season.

On The Spot: San Francisco has not had too many big leads in recent years, and it has not learned how to finish off an opponent that appears beaten. USF had Santa Clara down by 16 points and the Dons had everything going their way. But when Santa Clara started making a run, USF did not seem to know how to respond. It might simply be a matter of experience in those situations, but to take the next step, the Dons need to be able to keep their poise and execute offensively and defensively when an opponent makes a run.

Quote To Note: “Some of our guys had their hands behind their back. I don’t know what they were thinking. You’ve got to be able to guard without fouling. Trust me, we’ll address it.”—USF coach Rex Walters, after his team allowed Ben Dowdell of Santa Clara to get off a long, but open, 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds left that would have tied the game.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Season Recap: The Dons started the season 3-9, and one of those victories was over a Division II team. They had slipped to 7-14 overall and 2-4 in the conference after a 15-point home loss to Portland on Jan. 28, but they then won five of six and were playing their best basketball of the season. They were 7-5 in the WCC as of Feb. 22 and had assured themselves of avoiding a losing WCC record.

Player Rotation: Usual Starters—F Dior Lowhorn, G Kwame Vaughn, G Angelo Caloiaro, F Perris Blackwell, G Dontae Bryant. Key Subs—G Rashad Green, F Moustapha Diarra.

Game Review:

San Francisco 77, Pepperdine 47

San Francisco 75, Loyola Marymount 66

San Francisco 71, Santa Clara 68

Game Preview:

at Portland, Thursday, Feb. 25

at Gonzaga, Saturday, Feb. 27

WCC tournament in Las Vegas, Friday, March 5 or Saturday, March 6.

In Focus: The Dons embark on the toughest trip in the conference, but if they beat Portland on Feb. 25 they will be tied for third in the WCC. The Dons lost to Portland by 16 points earlier in the season and then beat Gonzaga, but the game at Portland is the more important one this week, and the one USF is more likely to win. The Dons need to prevent T.J. Campbell from controlling the tempo of the game and must work aggressively on defense to do that. If Angelo Caloiaro keeps hitting his 3-pointers, the Dons have a shot.

Roster Report:

• Freshman F Perris Blackwell missed the previous five games as of Feb. 22 because of a shoulder injury. It’s unclear when he will return, but the Dons expect him back before the season ends.

• F Blake Wallace had not played much this season, in large part because of injuries, but he had a season-high 12 points in the Feb. 20 victory over Santa Clara. In the last two games, as of Feb. 22, he made seven of nine 3-point shots.

• F Angelo Caloiaro had made 14 of 22 3-point shots in his past four games, as of Feb. 22, and was hitting 50.6 percent of his 3-pointers this season.

Pilots basketball: With San Francisco coming to town, is Stohl ready to light it up again?
By Jim Beseda, The Oregonian
February 24, 2010, 8:40PM

When reminded of his individual success in recent games against San Francisco, University of Portland guard Jared Stohl smiled.
20-Stohl_Jared.jpgUPPilots guard Jared Stohl scored a career-high 33 points on 9-of-13 shooting from three-point range the last time San Francisco visited the Chiles Center.
Some of the three-point specialist's most memorable shooting performances have come against the Dons, who visit the Chiles Center on Thursday night for a pivotal West Coast Conference game with the Pilots.

With only two league games remaining, the Pilots (17-9, 8-4 WCC) are one victory away from clinching no worse than a third-place finish -- a situation they hope to resolve tonight, so they don't have to wait until Saturday's conference finale against Santa Clara to try and figure it out.

"We've got to dig down deep," Stohl said. "It would be nice to get some momentum for (next week's) conference tournament."

Of Stohl's school-record 229 career three-point field goals, 24 have come against the Dons -- the most yielded by a WCC opponent. His track record against USF:

-- In two losses to the Dons as a freshman, he came off the bench in one game, started the other, and scored a combined 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field, including 5-of-16 shooting from three-point range.

-- He scored a career-high 33 points on 9-of-13 shooting from three-point range, leading the Pilots to 78-60 victory in the Dons' last trip to Portland a year ago. The nine three-pointers at the time was a single-game school record, which he later broke when he knocked down 10 in a game against Idaho earlier this season.

-- In last season's 72-67 win at USF's War Memorial Arena, he scored 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, helping lift the Pilots to their first road win in the series since the 2000-01 season.

-- When UP went to San Francisco four weeks ago, the 6-foot-1 junior from Marysville, Wash., made 6-of-12 shots from beyond the arc and scored 22 points in a 74-58 Pilots' win -- the eighth of his 12 games this season with four or more three-pointers.

"There's nothing really in particular about San Francisco," Stohl said. "It's just worked out that I've got a lot of open looks against them.

"It seems like they usually come out guarding me pretty hard. I think we just do a good job of running our offense against them, and that gets me open shots."

Pilots coach Eric Reveno said it typically takes a total team effort to get shots for Stohl, who has averaged 13.1 points in 11 games since replacing injured senior Nik Raivio in the starting lineup.

"When he gets open threes against anyone, it's really a credit to the guys who got him the ball," Reveno said. "Nobody just sort of starts off not guarding him. But they'll double-team someone, that person has to make a play out of the double, and then that pass might lead to the pass that gets Jared an open three.

"And then when Jared gets going a little bit, he is tough."

Notes: The Dons (12-15, 7-5) have won three consecutive games and five of the last six, including last Saturday's 71-68 overtime victory at Santa Clara, which lifted USF within a game of the Pilots. For the Dons to overtake the Pilots in the standings and secure the No. 3 seed in next week's WCC Tournament in Las Vegas, they would have to not only win tonight's game, but also win Saturday at Gonzaga. ... The best the Pilots can realistically hope for is to finish third after last week's 77-78 overtime loss at Loyola Marymount snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped them a game behind second-place Saint Mary's. As the No. 3 seed, the Pilots would earn an automatic berth into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

-- Jim Beseda

Just finished my TV debut as color man for Comcast SportsNet. Great opportunity and experience. On again Sat 8 pm on channel 37 (Portland).

Portland 70, San Francisco 59: Mitrovic steps up in second half, Pilots clinch third place

By Jim Beseda, The Oregonian
February 25, 2010, 9:44PM

The University of Portland needed someone to step up and help T.J. Campbell and Jared Stohl at the offensive end Thursday night, and Nemanja Mitrovic answered the call.

Mitrovic scored 15 of his career-high 20 points in the second half and Stohl led all scorers with 22 points, lifting the Pilots to a 70-59 West Coast Conference victory over the San Francisco Dons at the Chiles Center.

Robin Smeulders finished with 13 points and Campbell added six points and six assists as the Pilots (18-9, 9-4 WCC) clinched a third-place finish and the No. 3 seed in next week’s WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.

The Dons stepped up their defensive effort against Stohl after the junior guard scored 16 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting with four three-pointers, pacing the Pilots to a 36-34 lead at the break.

In their exuberance to try and shut down Stohl, the Dons lost track of Mitrovic, who also shot 5-of-8 from the field with four three-pointers in the second half as the Pilots swept the Dons (12-16, 7-6) for the second year in a row.

“With Nik (Raivio) being out, defenses are really going to key on Jared and T.J.,” Mitrovic said. “When they do, I just try to be available and try to help create and make some shots.”

After Kwame Vaughn scored on a lay-in to give the Dons a 49-47 lead with 8:59 remaining, Stohl hit a three-pointer to put the Pilots back on top and then Mitrovic took over.

Of the Pilots’ next six baskets, Mitrovic had five, including three from three-point range and a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line that pushed the lead to push the lead to 63-57 with 3:44 left.

“You can give credit for all my open shots to T.J. Campbell,” Mitrovic said. “Most of my shots are there thanks to him, because he gets in the lane and draws help, and then I just spot up and hit the jumper.”

Mitrovic’s performance came as no surprise to Pilots coach Eric Reveno, who says he sees the 6-foot-5 sophomore forward from Toronto do similar things in practice all the time.

“Nem has paid his dues in terms of waiting for his opportunity,” Reveno said. “He’s taking full advantage of this opportunity and we need it.”

The first 12 minutes belonged to the Dons, who hit 10 of their first 12 shots from the field, including five from three-point range, and jumped in front 28-19.

With eight minutes left in the half, it was as if the Pilots suddenly figured out what they needed to do on defense, because the Dons missed their next seven shots and had five turnovers.

USF coach Rex Walters also complained long enough and loud enough to draw a technical foul during that stretch, adding fuel to a 15-0 run by the Pilots that gave them a 34-28 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

"San Francisco played hard, mixed things up, and attacked us where they forced us into some turnovers," Reveno said. "Some of the turnovers were forced and some were unforced, but they wouldn’t let us get an offensive rhythm, and we can be pretty good when we do."

The teams attempted a combined 45 three-point field goals, and both shot slightly better from three-point range than they did from inside the arc. The difference was that the Pilots were 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from long range, and the Dons made 9-of-19 (47.4 percent).

The Pilots also had a 30-26 advantage in rebounds and scored 27 points off 19 USF turnovers, while the Dones scored 19 points off 16 UP turnovers.

"The game was as tough as I knew it could be," Reveno said. "I was hopeful we would take care of the ball a little bit -- you always are -- and that some things would go our way. But I've watched them a lot the last few days, and when you watch all their games now versus when we played them down there and they're just playing really well.

"That's a credit to them for becoming a better basketball team as the season has progressed. They've done a nice job with that team and the players have settled into some roles. I knew they were dangerous."

Rashad Green led the Dons with 16 points and Vaughn was the only other USF player in double figures with 11 points. Dior Lowhorn made his first three shots and had seven points about three minutes into the game, but went scoreless the rest of the night.

"Between being at home and us needing some wins, I was hoping we'd respond well, and I think we did," Reveno said. "But I knew it would be a challenge."

-- Jim Beseda