TAMPA, JAN. 21, 2020 (AP) – USF turned in another strong defensive effort and held its eighth opponent of the season to fewer than 60 points, but Tyson Etienne registered 13 points as Wichita State topped South Florida 56-43 on Tuesday night.
Wichita State went nearly six minutes without a point to start the game, but rallied to take the halftime lead at 25-23 when Etienne made a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Dexter Dennis made a 3-pointer in transition to increase Wichita State’s lead to 46-35, and cap a 10-0 run.
Dennis had 12 points for Wichita State (16-3, 4-2 American Athletic Conference). The Shockers lost two games in four days last week to drop out of the AP Top 25 poll. The then-No. 16 Shockers scored a season-low 53 points Wednesday at Temple and 54 Saturday against Houston.
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) had 14 points for the Bulls (8-11, 1-5), and Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami) added 10 points.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory’s thoughts on Tuesday’s game:
“I felt going in that it was obviously going to be a defensive battle with the way both teams play. For about 30 minutes, that’s exactly what it was and then give them credit. They were able to make some big offensive plays, kind of take a four, six-point lead and get it to 11 or 12. Give them credit for that. They were able to get some baskets inside. Dexter Dennis obviously gave them a big lift. We lost him a couple times, gambled on defense on a couple occasions that left him open, and he took advantage of it. That’s kind of the difference right now in terms of where we’re at. When we have some opportunities, we’re not taking advantage of them. We get some good looks at the basket and like every one of those gotta go in right now. In the first half, when you get some shots around the rim, you gotta finish all those plays for us right now. Defensively, still we were pretty darn good tonight.”
David Collins on how the Bulls are dealing with adversity:
“We’re holding each other up. We know what we’re capable of. We’ve lost some really close games and been in some games, so we know we just gotta keep it going. The light always shows.”
Notable
• David Collins registered his 59th career game in double digits and needs seven more to move into ninth place all-time at USF.
• USF held its eighth opponent of the season to fewer than 60 points.
• David Collins tied the American Athletic Conference all-time record for free throws made with 368.
Up Next
USF begins a two-game road trip Sunday at 2 p.m. when the Bulls head to Texas to face No. 25 Houston on CBS Sports Network.
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About USF Men’s Basketball
The USF men’s basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State’s Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory owns nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.
USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 CBI championship.
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