NEW ORLEANS, JAN. 29, 2020 (AP) – David Collins scored 14 points with eight rebounds and South Florida beat Tulane 66-52 on Wednesday.
Nic Thomas’ 3-pointer with 16:42 left to play brought the Green Wave within 34-33. But Ezacuras Dawson III (Miami) made a pair of 3-pointers, Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) added a 3 and a three-point play and Michael Durr’s (Atlanta) layup were all part of a 14-0 run. Tulane couldn’t get within five points the rest of the way.
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had 14 points for South Florida (9-12, 2-6 American Athletic Conference), which broke its five-game losing streak. Dawson added 13 points and Madut Akec (Bradenton, Fla.) had career highs with 10 points and eight rebounds in his first career start.
The Bulls had a 40-19 rebounding advantage and limited the Green Wave to just three offensive rebounds and two second chance points.
Christion Thompson had 18 points for the Green Wave (10-10, 2-6) who have lost four straight.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the play of Madut Akec:
“The first two minutes he was so tired that we had to get him an oxygen mask. He’s one of those guys that is a player. You get him in a rhythm and he finds different ways to make impacts. He was rewarded tonight, not just because of how he played against Houston, but because he puts in the time and the work, and that is what we’re all about. We gave him an opportunity, and we talk about this a lot in our program, you have to make the most of it.”
Head coach Brian Gregory on momentum after the victory:
“We got a little confidence shooting the ball tonight, which is always good. When you make a couple of shots, life is just so much better, it really is. I’m a defensive guy, but I love teams that are aggressive offensively, and we have to stay aggressive offensively and we have to stay confident. Hopefully today will give us a little bit of a boost.”
Notable
• Madut Akec made his first career start and finished with a career-best 10 points and eight rebounds.
• USF held its ninth opponent of the season to fewer than 60 points.
• Laquincy Rideau finished with one steal and moved into fifth place on the AAC career steals list with 151.
• David Collins moved into 22nd place on the AAC career scoring list with 1,139 career points.
• Ezacuras Dawson III tied a career-high with three 3-pointers.
Key Stats
40 – USF outrebounded Tulane 40-19 and held a 34-16 advantage in points in the paint.
2 – USF limited Tulane to just two second chance points on three offensive rebounds.
60 – USF made six three-pointers and shot 60.0 percent from beyond the arc in the second half.
16 – USF made 16 field goals in the second half and held Tulane to 17 field goals for the entire game.
Up Next
USF returns to the Yuengling Center on Saturday when the Bulls host in-state rival UCF at 4 p.m. in the second round of the War on I4.
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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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