USF Men's Basketball
USF vs. Hampton
Dec. 2, 2009
GAMENOTES:
Team Notes
Head coach Stan Heath is in his 23rd season of coaching, ninth as a head coach and third at USF. He has posted a 140-119 overall record and is 28-42 at USF.
USF is 23-6 against teams currently in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The last time the Bulls faced a MEAC team was on Dec. 31, 2006 when USF defeated Bethune-Cookman 82-49.
USF is 13-2 in non-conference home games in the Stan Heath era. In his first season with the Bulls, USF was 5-0, and last season the team posted a 4-2 mark before the BIG EAST slate began.
The Bulls 74 points against Hampton is the third highest output this season and, USF is now averaging 75 points per game in the last four games after starting the season with 66 points per game in the first four outings.
With Coach Stan Heath's emphasis on defense, the Bulls have given up only 470 points in eight games this season for a 58 points per game average. The Bulls held Hampton to just 55 points on the night, which is the third lowest point total allowed by the Bulls in a game this season.
Starters for the game were G Chris Howard, G Mike Mercer, G Dominique Jones, F Augustus Gilchrist and F Jarrid Famous. USF has started this lineup in seven of the team's eight games this season.
With the win over Hampton, USF extends its winning streak to four games and snaps the Pirates' two-game winning streak.
With a 7-1 record, USF is off to the best start since the 2006-07 season. If the Bulls can move to 8-1 with a victory over Central Michigan on Dec. 13, USF will have its best start since 1998-99, when the team was 8-1, then moved to 9-2 before finishing the season 14-14. The 2001-02 NIT team also posted a 9-2 start after beginning 7-0, then moving to 7-2 and on to 12-3.
Individual Notes
Jarrid Famous led the Bulls in scoring for the first time this season as he put up 16 points on the night. The junior college transfer also grabbed 10 rebounds to give him his first double-double of the season.
Senior Chris Howard scored in double-digits for the second straight game and for the third time this season as he put up 13 points against Hampton. Howard, with eight assists against Hampton, moved into fifth place in school history in career assists with 398 passing Brian Swift who finished his career with 388 helpers from 2002-05.
Freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick record a career high 11 points on the night, eclipsing his previous career high of nine which came against Kent State on Nov. 25.
Junior Dominique Jones got the scoring started for the Bulls on the opening possession by nailing a three from the top of the arch. Jones tied a season high with three three-pointers on the night, tying Chris Howards performance against FAU on Nov. 27.
After just two seasons with the Bulls, Dominique Jones is currently listed on five career records lists at USF and looking in on four more. He is ninth in scoring (1,223 points), three point field goals made (120), field goals attempted (946) and three pointers attempted (364), and 10th in free throws made (265). He is also just 40 attempted free throws, 24 made field goals, 13 steals and 63 assists away from 10th in each category.
