USF beat ISU in Diamond Head Semis

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HONOLULU—Freshman Charles Minlend scored a career-high 17 points and Frankie Ferrari had a career-high 16 as San Francisco defeated Illinois State 66-58 in the Diamond Head Classic Friday night.San Francisco (10-2) will play San Diego State in the tournament’s championship game on Christmas night. The Dons shot 14 for 26 from the free throw line.Ferrari scored eight points off the bench in the first half and was a starter in the second half.After a Ferrari steal he sprinted the other way and dished to Nate Renfro for a layup to give San Francisco a 52-47 lead with 6:27 to play. Matt McCarthy finished with 11 points and 11 boards for the Dons.Deontae Hawkins’s 3 brought Illinois State to within 61-55 with 45 seconds to play and Paris Lee hit a 3 nine seconds later to make it 62-58.MiKyle McIntosh led the Redbirds with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Hawkins added 12 points and 10 boards.