Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, December 22, 2018

San Francisco continued its best start in 19 years on Saturday with a 74-65 men’s basketball win over Stanford before a sellout crowd of 3,005.

The Dons (12-1) were led by Charles Minlend with 19 points, and Frankie Ferrari with 17. Jimbo Lull, USF’s 7-foot junior, hit double figures in rebounds for the first time in his career with 15; he also scored 11 points. Matt McCarthy added 10 points for the Dons.

Daejon led the Cardinal (6-5) with 19 points, followed by Oscar da Silva with 13 points, KZ Okpala with 11 and Bryce Wills with 10.

Da Silva hit a 3-pointer to cut USF’s lead to 60-52 with 1:36 to play, and, after Stanford pulled to within 64-60 in the final minute, Minlend responded with a three-point play.

USF led by double-digits through most of the second half after taking a 30-19 halftime lead, as Stanford endured one of its worst shooting games of the season. Stanford shot 23 percent from the field in the first half while committing 11 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

It was the Cardinal’s first game at USF in 23 years, the first game on the USF campus since 1987, and the 68th meeting between the schools. Stanford leads the series 46-22.

Next Saturday, the Cardinal host Long Beach State, while the Dons visit UC Santa Barbara.