SAN FRANCISCO–  The SF State Gators started off their 2015-16 season this evening with an exhibition game at crosstown foe, University of San Francisco, and hung tough with the Division I Dons for 35 minutes as they lost 87-76.  Junior transfer Treaven Duffy paced the Gators with 17 points off the bench while adding three assists and four rebounds.

"I am really proud of our guys this evening as they played really hard and competed," said SF State head coach Paul Trevor.  "We were really unselfish as we shared the ball as you can tell with 16 assists on 25 made baskets."

This evening's crosstown battle saw 15 ties and 11 changes up until the final five minutes of the game. Each team connected on 25 field goals including 11 three's while the Dons were 26 for 45 from the charity stripe and SF State was 15 for 22.  University of San Francisco also had a 42-34 advantage on the boards.

As Coach Trevor stated, SF State had 16 assists.  Coley Apsay and Duffy each had three with Warren Jackson, Israel Hakim and Damien Ranch with two apiece. 

Besides Duffy's 17 points, Nick Calcaterra and Derrick Brown each chipped in 9 points with Floyd Wormley adding 8 points for the visitors.  Devin Watson, who was named to the 2014-15 West Coast All-Freshman team, paced the hosts with 25 points and was one of four Dons to score in double figures.

The Dons opened up the game on an 8-2 run in the first three minutes, but SF State came right back as the Gators outscored their hosts 12-5 in the next four minutes to take a 14-13 lead.

A Ryne Williams jumper at the 9:59 mark of the first half off an assist from Derrick Brown gave the Gators a 24-18 lead.  The Dons retook the lead as they went on a 10-3 run capped by a three by Watson to give the hosts a 28-27 lead with a little under 7 minutes left in the first stanza.

The game went back and forth the final 7 minutes with the Gators holding a 42-41 lead on a Duffy lay-up, but two made throws by Watson gave USF a 43-42 lead heading into the locker room. 

USF started the second half outscoring SF State 9-3 to take a 52-45 lead in the first four minutes of the second half. SF State went on a 7-0 run capped by a three by Duffy off an assist from Israel Hakim in the next three minute to tie the game at 52-52. 

A three by Derrick Brown at the 11:50 mark off a pass from Apsay tied the game at 58-58 all.  The Dons came back through with a mini 6-0 run to take a 64-58 lead in the next two minutes.  The Gators would not go away as they cut the USF lead to 64-61 on a three by Damien Rance off of one of Duffy's three assists. 

USF took a 71-64 lead with six minutes to go, but another three by Calcaterra off a pass from Warren Jackson cut the Gator deficit to just 71-67 at the 5:30 mark. 

The Dons then went on a 10-0 run in the next three minutes to increase their lead to 81-67.  Two made free throws by Jackson stopped the run by the Dons as the Gators cut their host's lead to 81-69. 

USF went four-for-four from the charity stripe down the stretch as the Dons took the crosstown battle 87-76 before 1242 fans that were wearing both green and gold and purple and gold.

SF State will continue its exhibition season with a 5:30pm scheduled tip-off in Southern California against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at the Thunderdome.  The Gators will conclude their exhibition season on Friday, November 13 for an 8pm scheduled tip-off in Moraga, Calif., against another West Coast Conference opponent in the Saint Mary's College Gaels. 

The Gators will open up its 2015-16 regular season on Saturday, November 14 at 7pm against the Pacific College Pioneers at The Swamp at Don Nasser Family Plaza. 

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Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.

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