SPRINGFIELD, Mo. ? Senior guard James Holmes topped all scorers with 24 points, leading the University of South Florida men's basketball team (3-2) to a 72-66 victory over Georgia Southern (4-4) in the consolation game of the Price Cutter Classic Saturday night, hosted by Missouri State.

Junior McHugh Mattis came off the bench to collect his second double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. He also added five blocks, three assists and a steal. The Bulls shot 48.1 percent from the field as a team, including a 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) effort from long distance.

USF's offensive attack, which shot just 31 percent in the tourney-opening loss to TAMU-Corpus Christi Friday night, jumped out to a quick 9-0 advantage, thanks in part to a pair of treys from junior Melvin Buckley.

Georgia Southern responded, however, tying the game at 13-13 with 12:31 left in the opening half. Holmes answered with a 3-pointer and the Bulls would maintain a lead the rest of stanza and owned a 32-30 advantage at the break.

The game remained close in the opening minutes of the second half as the Bulls were forced to deal with foul trouble. Senior Solomon Jones sat down after picking up his fourth at the 17:24 mark and Buckley earned his fourth 12 seconds later, but remained in the game.

Despite the adversity, USF moved ahead 55-46 with just over nine minutes on the clock. The Eagles were up to the challenge again and eventually took the lead at 59-57 three minutes later. A pair of charity tosses by Mattis knotted the score and two minutes later a 3-point play by Jones set the score at 67-61.

Turnovers and missed shots allowed GSU to remain in the contest and the victory wasn't sealed until Holmes gave his team a four-point lead with 40 seconds on the clock.

USF continues its season-long four-game road swing at Stetson Tuesday night.