The University of San Francisco Dons bounced back from a stunning season opening upset with a Saturday victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. The Dons were shocked by the North Dakota State Bison in their Friday opener, but had little time to dwell on the loss. Their second annual Hilltop Challenge provides them with three games in three days and USF was ready on day two as they defeated the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 69-50.
The Dons once again found themselves struggling early on as NAU took a lead in the first half for ten minutes. USF never fell too far behind, but the struggles had to be frustrating. Dons closed out the first half with five points to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room. The 11.5 point favorites were a bit slow out of the gates in the second half, but a basket and foul at the first TV timeout got them rolling. The Dons took a four point lead at that point and never looked back, winning by 19.
Michael Williams led the team in scoring with 16 points. The team got 11 points from Rashad Green and 12 from Cole Dickerson off the bench. Angelo Caloiaro keyed the defense with 11 rebounds and six steals. The Dons struggled again with 18 turnovers, but they were able to get past them on this night.
The Dons wrap up the Hilltop Challenge with a 3:30pm PT matchup against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns. ULL is 1-1 after winning their opener over Northern Arizona and losing by 20 on Saturday to North Dakota State. The NDSU Bison look to make a clean sweep of the Challenge as they meet Northern Arizona.