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TAMPA - University of South Florida junior Dominique Jones put on a show Sunday afternoon in the Sun Dome, scoring 37 points to lead the Bulls to a 70-61 victory over No. 17 Pittsburgh.

The win was USF's third in a row over a BIG EAST opponent after having previously never winning two in a row in BIG EAST play. The win was also the Bulls' first over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 8 Marquette last season.

Jones knocked down the second-most points of his career on 10-of-20 shooting and 14-of-17 free throw shooting while also adding eight rebounds and three assists in front of 5,370 fans.

USF (14-7, 4-5 BIG EAST) only shot 39.6 percent from the floor, while Pitt (16-5, 6-3) hit 46.9 of their field goals. The Bulls, though, connected on 24-of-35 from the free throw line, while the Panthers were only 12-of-22.

Senior Chris Howard was the only other player in double figures for USF with 13, while freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick added 10 boards.

Gilbert Brown led the Panthers with 25 points, while Brad Wanamaker and Ashton Gibbs posted 14 and 11, respectively.

Gibbs hit a jumper just over two minutes into the game to knot the score at 2-2, but that would mark the first of just two times in the game Panthers would tie it up. The Panthers never held the lead during the contest.

From there, USF would slowly get the lead into double digits, using an 11-4 run over nearly seven minutes in the half to go up, 19-9, at the 9:10 mark, after which Pitt called its second timeout of the half to slow the tide.

Following a 22-11 lead for USF with 7:40 left in the first half, the Panthers would go on a 11-0 run to tie things back up at 22-all, holding USF scoreless for nearly four minutes.

Howard ended the drought with 3:44 with a jumper, as the Bulls would score nine of the last 13 points of the half to go up by five, 31-26, heading into the break.

The second half belonged to Jones and Howard, who scored 32 of the team's 39 points in the second stanza, including 16 of the first 18 points for USF.

Pitt kept things close to start the half, getting the deficit down to three points on three separate occasions, the last at 35-32 on a two-pointer by Brown with 15:30 left on the clock.

A 16-5 run by the Bulls over the next 4:20 gave USF its biggest lead of the day at 14 points, 51-37, forcing Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon to call a timeout. Dixon, steaming at the officials during the run, was eventually called for a technical foul at 14:43 for arguing calls.

Pitt would keep on coming, though, using a 12-2 run to whittle the lead down to four at 53-49 when Wanamaker slammed home a fastbreak dunk after a steal.

The Bulls were able to match Pitt shot for shot as the game wore on. Jones added a pair of free throws at 1:48 to give the Bulls a 63-56 lead, and after Wanamaker made a layup to get the game back to five, 63-58, with 1:31 left, Pitt could get no closer.

Three missed free throws, a turnover and a missed jumper, all by Pitt, allowed the Bulls to get the lead to nine at 67-58 with 24 seconds on the clock. Brown sank a three with 15 seconds left, but USF sank 7-of-8 free throws in the last 35 seconds to seal the deal and the 70-61 win.

The Bulls will be back in action Wednesday at Georgetown for a 7 p.m. tipoff, the first of three straight games on the road for the Bulls. USF does not return to the Sun Dome until Feb. 16 against Cincinnati.

USF vs. Pittsburgh
Postgame Notes
Jan. 31, 2010

Team Notes
- The last time USF had three-straight conference wins was in 2003: Feb. 1 vs. Charlotte (67-64), Feb. 4 TCU (71-67), Feb. 8 Saint Louis (71-64), in Conference USA action.
- The last time USF defeated a nationally ranked team was Feb. 6, 2009 vs. No. 8 Marquette, 57-56.
- USF recorded its fourth win against a ranked team since joining the BIG EAST Conference. USF is now 4-20 against ranked teams since 2005.
- At USF, Coach Stan Heath is now 2-13 against ranked teams.
- Heath is now 2-2 all-time against Pittsburgh.
- Against No. 17 Pitt, USF recorded only five turnovers, the third time since the 2002-03 season USF has had five turnovers in a game. The Bulls also had five vs. Iona (12/27/08) and vs. Tulane (2/5/05).
- No. 17 Pittsburgh entered the game as the 17th-best team in the country in rebounding margin, but USF grabbed more boards, 35-34, on the day.
- The home attendance of 5,370 was the second-highest of the season, behind the 6,110 who watched the USF-Notre Dame game on Jan. 13.

Individual Notes
- Junior Dominique Jones has scored 30 points in 10 games in his career, three times as a rookie, four as a sophomore and three in his junior campaign.
- Jones' 37 points was the second-most of his career behind his 46 at Providence (Jan. 23, 2010).
- Jones has been the game's high scorer (both teams) in seven-straight BIG EAST games. Six times he was the outright high scorer and once he tied the opponent (Jeremy Hazell - Seton Hall, Jan. 28).
- Jones moved up the all-time records list by attempting 17 free throws, which moves him into a tie for third place with Altron Jackson's 498.
- Jones tied his career high with 14 made free throws, tying for the third-most made in a game in USF history.
- Jones currently leads the BIG EAST in points per game for conference games only, as Jones has scored 26.8 per contest. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody ranks second with 24.2 per game.
- Jones has pulled down at least eight rebounds seven times this season.
- In his last eight games Jones has averaged 29.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. Cut that to the last three games, and Jones is averaging 37.0 points and 7.3 rebounds and shooting 57.6 percent.
- With 10 boards against Pitt, freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick has grabbed double-digit rebounds for the second time in his career. His season high is 11 at Louisville on Dec. 30, his first double-double of the year.
- Senior Chris Howard has scored in double-digits in four-straight games, dating back to the Cincinnati game on Jan. 20.
- Senior Alex Rivas set a season high in minutes played, collecting seven. Rivas, who has missed much of the season following surgery on his legs, averaged 17.8 minutes per game last season.