The Dons broke open a seven-point halftime lead (31-24) by opening the second half on a 16-3 run to take a commanding 47-27 lead with 10:18 left in the contest. The Hornets trailed by a game-high 24 points before they closed the game on an 11-0 run to lose by 13.

The Hornets recorded season lows in points (47), field-goal percentage (.320), field goals (16), field goals attempted (50), free-throw percentage (.476) and blocked shots (zero). The Dons outrebounded Sacramento State, 51-35, and controlled the glass with 19 offensive rebounds resulting in 15 second-chance points.

With the win, San Francisco improved to 10-6 and a perfect 6-0 at home. Sacramento State, which had won three of its last four prior to tonight, dropped to 6-7 with the loss. The Hornets will enter Big Sky Conference play next Saturday (Jan. 10) against Northern Arizona as tonight’s game marked the final non-conference contest of the season.

The Hornets’ 6-7 record is still the team’s second-best mark entering conference play since Sacramento State joined the Big Sky in 1996-97. The 1999-00 squad had a 6-5 record entering conference play.

Bayless and Broussard combined for 35 of the Dons’ 60 points as Bayless went 9-of-13 from the field. Of Broussard’s 20 rebounds, nine of them came on the offensive glass as he also finished with three assists and two steals.

Sacramento State’s top two scorers this year (seniors Joseth Dawson and Joel Jones) combined for just seven points on 2-for-15 shooting from the field. Jones went scoreless for just the second time of his career and failed to score at least seven points for the first time this season. Senior Brandon Guyton was the only Hornet in double figures as the shooting guard scored 10 points, including 3-of-5 from beyond the three-point arc. Junior Jameel Pugh added nine points and seven rebounds while senior Cedric Thompkins chipped in eight points and five rebounds for the Hornets.

Sacramento State went 1-for-15 from the field to go along with seven turnovers over a 13-minute span of the first half that allowed USF to take a commanding 22-13 lead with 5:27 remaining in the first half. The Hornets would get no closer than within seven points of the Dons’ lead the rest of the way. Sacramento State’s largest lead of the game was three points (7-4).

The Hornets are now 1-6 on the road this season, and 5-1 at home.

Sacramento State opens Big Sky Conference play with three-straight home games against Northern Arizona, Portland State (Jan. 15) and Eastern Washington (Jan. 17). Each of those games will tip off at 7:05 p.m.