SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Yale nearly took down another 20-win team from a year ago on the road. Instead, the Bulldogs came up just short, dropping a heartbreaking 84-79 decision to San Francisco in a terrific game at the War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
The game featured seven ties and 15 lead changes.
Matthue Cotton's three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation tied the score at 72 and forced the extra period.
The final tie was at 79-79 late in overtime. After Charles Minlend's three-point play, the Bulldogs had a chance to force a second overtime, but
Jordan Bruner's three-pointer rimmed out with 11 seconds left.
Khalil Shabazz then made two free throws to seal the victory for the Dons, who have won 20 games in each of the last three seasons and were coming off a 10-point victory over Princeton on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (2-1) had opened the season with an overtime win over a Stony Brook team that won 24 games last year.
Paul Atkinson paced Yale with 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Cotton added a career-high 16 points, while Bruner finished with 12 and
Eric Monroe contributed 10.
Jamaree Bouyea scored 21 points to lead San Francisco.
USF built a 16-point first-half lead before Yale roared back, pulling to within 35-29 at halftime and starting the second half with a 10-4 run to tie the score.
From there, the teams traded baskets for most of the rest of the way. At one point for the Bulldogs Cotton and
Eze Dike, both sophomores, combined to score 15 straight points.
Yale is back in action on Sunday at Oklahoma State.
