WICHITA, KAN., FEB. 20, 2020 (AP) – Jaime Echenique tied his career high with 20 points as Wichita State defeated South Florida 65-55 on Thursday night at Koch Arena.
Echenique sank two free throws and Dennis Dexter followed with a 3-pointer as Wichita State (20-6, 8-5 American Athletic Conference) fought out of the second of two ties midway through the final period with five unanswered points.
Echenique converted 12-of-14 from the foul line. He added nine rebounds and four blocks. Tyson Etienne had 12 points and Jamarius Burton 10 for Wichita State.
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bulls (11-15, 4-9). David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) added 11 points and moved into 12th place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Michael Durr (Atlanta) had eight points and nine rebounds.
Quotable
Head Coach Brian Gregory on the game against Wichita State:
“I think you have to give Wichita State a ton of credit. We gave them everything we could muster today. We got the game into the last eight minutes with a chance to win, which is what you want to do when you are on the road against a really, really good team. We did a great job defensively today, we did a great job on the glass, but to their credit, they made some critical plays during that stretch run. Every time we made a minor defensive error, they took advantage of it. Echenique was really, really good today, and Burton did a really good job of settling them down and getting them into some stuff. They are a team, at time can struggle offensively like we can, but they find just enough to get the job done. I’m pleased with the effort our guys gave, but it just wasn’t enough on the road against a really good team.”
Notable
• David Collins scored 11 points and moved into 12th place all-time at USF with 1,202 career points.
• David Collins turned in his 64th career game in double figures and needs two more to move into the top 10 all-time at USF.
• Laquincy Rideau finished with three steals and has recorded the third-most career steals in AAC history.
• USF became just the 22nd team in the last 204 games to outrebound Wichita State at Koch Arena.
• USF limited Wichita State to 65 points and held its 24th opponent of the season under its scoring average.
Key Stats
14 – USF outscored Wichita State 14-5 in second chance points.
14 – USF shot 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from three-point range in the second half.
6 – Wichita State finished with six blocked shots and held USF without a rejection.
Up Next
USF closes a two-game road trip Sunday at 2 p.m. against UConn. The matchup will be broadcast live 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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