Bulls Win Second Straight OT Thriller, 76-74, Over Pirates

Men's Basketball USF

Bulls Win Second Straight OT Thriller, 76-74, Over Pirates

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TAMPA-  The University of South Florida men's basketball team collected its second consecutive BIG EAST overtime win with a thrilling 76-74 win over Seton Hall Thursday night at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls' victory was the first time in program history that USF has won back-to-back BIG EAST contests. USF defeated Providence 109-105 on Saturday night in overtime.

With five seconds remaining in overtime, Seton Hall came up the court with a chance to tie the game and force a second overtime, but junior Jarrid Famous came up with the steal as time expired.

The Bulls got 28 points from junior Dominique Jones, his seventh straight 20-point effort, including four clutch free-throws in overtime to reach 1,500 points in his career.

The win over Seton Hall was the first win for the Bulls over the Pirates, and improved USF to 3-5 in BIG EAST play. USF was previously 0-7 against Seton Hall before the win Thursday night.

Famous collected his sixth double-double of the season as he accounted for 15 points and 14 rebounds on the night.

Senior Chris Howard collected 12 points and six rebounds including the eventual game-winner in overtime, and added a pair of assists.

Seton Hall got off to a quick start, opening the game on a 7-1 run.

The Bulls responded with a 4-0 run of their own, including a fast-break dunk by Mike Mercer off of a pass from Jones.

USF gained its first lead of the game at the 11:39 mark of the opening half, when Famous took a pass in transition, slammed it down for two, and ignited the home crowd.

The Bulls capped another 6-0 run at the 7:46 mark as senior Ryan Kardok spotted up at the top of the arc in transition, and nailed a three to put USF up 17-14.

Seton Hall regained its lead, but USF came back after back-to-back jumpers by Famous and Jones to cut the Pirate lead to 28-27 heading into halftime.

Mercer got the scoring started with a fast-break layup to open the second half off of a missed Seton Hall shot, giving the Bulls a 29-28 advantage.

At 1:45 into the second half, Famous went up for a layup, and was intentionally fouled and hit the bucket. Jones then hit both free throws, and USF was able to score on a bucket by Fitzpatrick in the lane to take a 37-30 lead.

After a flurry of scores for both squads, Seton Hall was able to close the gap to 43-42 with 12:47 remaining, before Jones pulled up for a long jumper to put the Bulls back up by three.

A long three by Anthony Crater on the wing put USF up by six points, 50-44, but Seton Hall responded by going on a 4-0 run capped by a fastbreak jam by Jeremy Hazell, who had 28 on the night for Seton Hall.

Freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick re-enacted his game-tying shot against Providence when he spotted up from the wing and knocked down a three to put USF up 54-51.

After exchanging buckets, Seton Hall was able to extend a possession by pulling down three offensive boards which lead to a three by Hazell in the corner and tied the game at 58-58.

After a drive and bucket by Jones, the Bulls got a stop on the defensive end, and Famous hit a free throw to give the Bulls the 65-60 advantage with under two minutes remaining.

Robert Mitchell connected on an open three from the top of the arc to cut the USF lead to 65-63 with under a minute remaining.

After a missed layup by Howard, Lawerence grabbed an offensive board and tied the game with a layup underneath.

Jones and Howard both fired up shots and the other end, but caught too much iron and sent the game to overtime for a second straight game.

Mitchell opened up overtime with a layup to give Seton Hall the 67-65 advantage.

The Bulls tied it up on free throws by Famous, and took the lead, 69-67, on a drive by Jones off of a nice assist by Howard.

Eugene Harvey responded with a layup of his own to tie the game, 69-69.

After two sets of free throws by Jones, and another layup by Harvey, the game was knotted up at 73-73. Howard took the ball into the lane and connected on a one-handed layup to give the Bulls the 75-73 advantage.

On the next Seton Hall possession, Herb Pope was fouled and went to the line with a chance to tie the game, but missed the second free throw, and USF would hang on to win.

USF is back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Bulls host Pittsburgh at the Sun Dome.

TEAM NOTES:
- The win over Seton Hall was the first win for the Bulls over the Pirates, and improved USF to 3-5 in BIG EAST play. USF was previously 0-7 against Seton Hall before the win on Thursday night.

- The victory was the first time in program history that USF has won back-to-back BIG EAST contests. USF defeated Providence 109-105 on Saturday night in overtime and Seton Hall in overtime on Thursday night.

- The back-to-back overtime contests (109-105 vs. PC, 76-74 vs. SHU) was the first time that the Bulls have gone to extra periods in two straight games for the first time since 2000.

- It also marks the first time USF has won two straight overtime games since the 1998-99 season. Prior to winning the last two games, USF had been 1-9 in its past 10 overtime games.

- For the third game in a row USF posted fewer turnovers than its season average, as the Bulls committed eight against Seton Hall. The Bulls currently average 13.4 turnovers a game.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
- Junior guard Dominique Jones finished the game against Seton Hall with 28 points to give him 1,517 career points, one of only six players to accomplish the feat. Up next on the all-time list is No. 5 Chucky Atkins, who had 1,619 points during his career.

- Jones scored 28 points on the night, and the 20-point effort was the 32nd time in his career and the 12th time this season he has hit for 20 or more. The 28 points was the seventh game in a row that he has scored at least 20 points.

- Jones is averaging 28.4 points per game over his last seven contests and is shooting 51.6 percent from the floor during that time as well as 78.9 percent from the free throw line.

- Jones hit 10-of-11 from the free throw line and is now 28-of-33 (84.8 percent) over his last three games

- Famous collected his sixth double-double of the season as he accounted for 15 points and 14 rebounds on the night. His 14 rebounds marks a new career high.

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Players Mentioned

Anthony Crater

#10 Anthony Crater

G
6' 1"
Sophomore
Jarrid Famous

#31 Jarrid Famous

F/C
6' 11"
Junior
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick

#32 Toarlyn Fitzpatrick

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Chris Howard

#3 Chris Howard

G
6' 3"
Senior
Dominique Jones

#20 Dominique Jones

G
6' 4"
Junior
Ryan Kardok

#13 Ryan Kardok

G
6' 3"
Senior
Mike Mercer

#33 Mike Mercer

G
6' 5"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Anthony Crater

#10 Anthony Crater

6' 1"
Sophomore
G
Jarrid Famous

#31 Jarrid Famous

6' 11"
Junior
F/C
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick

#32 Toarlyn Fitzpatrick

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Chris Howard

#3 Chris Howard

6' 3"
Senior
G
Dominique Jones

#20 Dominique Jones

6' 4"
Junior
G
Ryan Kardok

#13 Ryan Kardok

6' 3"
Senior
G
Mike Mercer

#33 Mike Mercer

6' 5"
Senior
G