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TAMPA -  Thanks to a 19-0 run in the second half, the University of South Florida men's basketball team wrapped up its stretch of seven games in 15 days with a 78-58 victory over Florida Atlantic University Friday night at the Sun Dome.

Sophomore Augustus Gilchrist led all players with 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocks, while senior Chris Howard had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior Dominique Jones added 11 points, 10 assists and four rebounds for the Bulls, who moved to 6-1 on the season and 11-0 overall against FAU. The Owls dropped to 2-3 in front of an announced crowd of 4,571.

Greg Gantt led the Owls with 19 points in his first career start, as USF held FAU to a 33.9 shooting percentage. The Bulls hit 49.1 percent of their floor shots, including 47.6 percent of their 3-pointers (10-of-21).

USF got up early as Jones grabbed the opening tip and sent a pass to senior Mike Mercer for a quick layup, barely five seconds into play. USF pushed out to a 9-3 lead four minutes into the game, including dunks by Jones and Howard a little over a minute apart, but FAU quickly tied it back up at 9-9 at 13:01.

USF got the lead up to five at 14-9 when sophomore Justin Leemow nailed a three from the top of the arc. The advantage went to six at 20-14 as freshman Shaun Noriega took a skip pass in the corner and drained a three, one of his two on the night, with 8:07 left.

FAU maintained defensive poise, though, including a pair of blocks on back-to-back layups by junior Jarrid Famous with just over 10 minutes remaining. Famous led all players with nine rebounds on the night.

The Bulls went on an 8-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Howard in the corner to make it 31-19 with 5:30 on the clock. The Owls responded with a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes that shrank the lead for USF down to two at 31-29. After Gilchrist sank both free throws at the 2:07 mark, neither team could score for the rest of the half with USF leading, 35-29.

In the first half, USF outrebounded FAU 22-10 and outscored FAU 8-2 on second chance attempts. The Owls did outshoot the Bulls, 48-41 percent.

USF held FAU's leading scorer, Raymond Taylor, scoreless in the first 14 minutes of the game. Taylor, who averages 18 points per game, had nine at the half but ended the night with just 12, after USF held him without a bucket for the first 16 and a half minutes of the second half.

The Bulls got the lead up to eight to begin the second half, including nifty passing on a possession when each player touched the ball with inside-out passing before Famous hit a jumper down low.

A layup by the Owls' Brett Royster that made it 39-36 with 15:23 left was the closest the Owls got, as USF then went on a 19-0 over the next seven and a half minutes. Gilchrist got the foul, and one, at 9:07 that extended the lead to 22, 58-36. A free throw by FAU's Jordan McCoy at 7:57 finally ended the scoring drought for the Owls.

USF maintained the 20-point lead throughout the rest of the half and continued to get production from Gilchrist in the second stanza. Gilchrist stole the ball out of Royster's hands right after Royster snatched a rebound and quickly layed it in for two at the 4:38 mark, then scored USF's next eight points and 11 straight overall for the Bulls to ice the win.

After getting outrebounded in the first half, FAU held a 25-16 advantage in the second stanza. The Bulls shot a blistering 60 percent in the second half, while holding the Owls to a 23.5 mark.

The Bulls return to the Sun Dome next Wednesday, Dec. 2 to face Hampton at 7 p.m. for the third game of the five-game homestand from Nov. 25 to Dec. 16.

GAME NOTES
Team Notes
- The University of South Florida began a five-game homestand on Nov. 25 when the Bulls defeated Kent State, 76-54. USF will still face Hampton (Dec. 2), Central Michigan (Dec. 13) and UCF (Dec. 16) before hitting the road again.
- USF is a perfect 11-0 against FAU, dating back to the first meeting in 1993-94. In the last matchup between the teams, the Bulls bettered the Owls 100-69 in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach. That night was the last game USF has topped the century mark. FAU was the first of two Florida schools that the Bulls will face this season.
- Head coach Stan Heath is in his 23rd season of coaching, ninth as a head coach and third at USF. He has posted a 139-119 overall record and is 27-42 at USF.
- With a 19-0 run in the second half, USF has back-to-back games with 19-0 runs. Against Kent State, USF started the game 24-4 on the heels of a 19-0 run.
- USF has had three Bulls score in double figures in five of six games. Against FAU, Chris Howard (15), Dominique Jones (11) and Augustus Gilchrist (27) all had double-digits.
- USF hit 10 3-pointers for the first time since Dec. 27, 2008 against Iona, a span of 25 games.
- After scoring between 65 and 67 points the first four games of the season, USF has scored 74 or more in three straight games, including a season high 78 against FAU.
- USF stayed with its regular starting lineup of Augustus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous at forward and Dominique Jones, Chris Howard and Mike Mercer at guard.
- USF held the Owls scoreless for 6:32 in the second half, as FAU went 0-of-11 from the floor during that stretch.
- USF last defeated an opponent by 20 or more points on Jan. 10, 2009, an 80-58 win over DePaul. It was the second 20-point victory in USF's last 17 wins dating back to the middle of the 2007-08 season.

Individual Notes
- Junior Dominique Jones had 10 assists in the game, setting a new career high. His previous best had been seven helpers, which he had collected on four separate occasions.
- Sophomore Augustus Gilchrist has drained at least four free throws in all but one game this season. He hit 5-of-7 against FAU, and his season high was 15-of-16 against Davidson.
- Gilchrist was held to four points in the first half, but exploded in the second half with 23 points, setting a new career high with 27. Gilchrist had the same type of night against UNC Wilmington when he was held scoreless in the first half and ended with 14 points. His previous career high was 23 points against SMU in the season opener.
- With 27 points against FAU, Gilchrist has scored at least 14 points in every game this season.
-Senior guard Chris Howard moved into sole possession of sixth place in career assists with four against FAU, as he now stands one beyond No. 5 No. 5 Brian Swift's 389 and No. 4 Tommy Tonelli's 480 assists.
- After just two seasons with the Bulls, Dominique Jones is currently listed on five career records lists at USF and looking in on three more. He is ninth in scoring (1,210 points), three point field goals made (117), field goals attempted (929) and three pointers attempted (359), and 10th in free throws made (265). He is also just 40 attempted free throws, 29 made field goals and 13 steals away from 10th in each category.