TAMPA - The University of South Florida men's basketball team outscored Cincinnati 41-34 in the second half of Tuesday night's game as the Bulls went on to defeat the Bearcats, 65-57, in front of 6,607 fans at the Sun Dome.

The win improved the Bulls to 16-9 on the season, and 6-7 in BIG EAST play, the most wins in BIG EAST play ever for USF.

Junior guard Dominique Jones exploded for 19 points in the second half, part of a 26-point effort on the night, to lead all scorers.

USF got 12 points from senior Mike Mercer and 10 points from sophomore Augustus Gilchrist, in the absence of junior Jarrid Famous, who missed the game with a sprained knee.

Gilchrist made his first start since Dec. 2 against Hampton and led the Bulls with six rebounds. Senior Alex Rivas also made his first start of the season.

Sophomore guard Anthony Crater came off of the bench to score nine points as well as spark the USF defense.

USF avenged its 78-70 loss to Cincinnati on Jan. 20 by beating its BIG EAST foe to move into a tie with Cincinnati and Notre Dame at 6-7 in BIG EAST play.

The Bulls held Cincinnati to just 38 percent shooting for the game, and forced the Bearcats to turn the ball over 16 times.

The Bulls continued their home court advantage against the Bearcats, as USF collected its fourth straight BIG EAST home victory in front of the largest crowd of the season.

The Bulls opened the second half on a 21-6 run, and scored 41 points of their own after halftime.

After a quick bucket by the Bearcats to open the game, the Bulls got Jones open on a screen, and he knocked down an open three from the top of the arc to give the Bulls the early 3-2 lead.

Howard was able to drive to the basket early, drawing two early fouls and getting to the charity stripe line, where he would knock down his two free throws.

The Bulls got a fast-break layup from Mercer  at the 12:55 mark to give them the lead back, 7-6, the last time UC would hold the lead in the game.

Cincinnati was able to hit a mid-range jumper, before Crater picked the pocket of Deonta Vaughn, and took the ball to the rim for the easy layup.

Mercer continued his hot shooting early on, as he knocked down a three from the corner with 6:20 remaining in the half to give the Bulls the 18-11 advantage.

Cincinnati closed the USF lead to just 24-23 with under a minute remaining in the half thanks to a 7-2 run to end the first half.

The Bulls came out in the second half firing on all cylinders, and got a jumper from freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick to begin the scoring in the second period.

Mercer grabbed a loose ball on the offensive end and dished to Howard, who skipped it to Gilchrist who knocked down a three and put the Bulls up, 29-23.

Jones led a fast-break which led to a layup, and was part of a 9-0 USF run to open the second half.

The Bulls kept the pedal to the metal as Howard drove the lane, and dished to Gilchrist who finished with a big dunk to put USF up 38-27 with 11:54 remaining, part of a Bulls' 14-4 run.

The Bulls extended their lead thanks to a 21-6 run to open the second half, which included 11 points from Jones.

Cincinnati went into a full-court press and was able to cut the USF lead from 18 to 11, 50-39, with under five minutes to play.

Jones took an isolation with under two to play, dribbled right, crossed up his defender, and pulled up for a three from the wing to all but end any hope of a Cincinnati comeback.

USF will be back at home Saturday as the Bulls host St. John's at the Sun Dome for a noon tip-off.

Individual Notes:

-Senior Alex Rivas got the his first start of the 2009-10 season, and the 15th start of his career.

-Augustus Gilchrist made his first start since Dec. 2 against Hampton, as he came off the bench in USF's last game at Marquette, which also served as he first game back since missing 15 games over a two-month period.

-USF was without junior forward Jarrid Famous, as he missed the game with a sprained right knee. Famous is listed as day-to-day.

-Dominique Jones connected on a pair of three pointers against Cincinnati to pass Melvin Buckley on the all-time list with 151. Jones now stands seventh all time in career three pointers.

-Jones continued his assault on the USF record book against Cincinnati. Jones scored 26 points to pass USF great Chucky Atkins on the all-time scoring list. With his 26 points, he now has 1,637 in his career and stands fifth all-time. Up next is No. 4 B.B. Waldon, who score 1,869 points in his career.

-Jones is Mr. Consistent. He scored 26 points against Cincinnati, making it the 36th time in his career that he has scored at least 20 points in a game, as he also added 19 points in the second half.

-Jones was again clutch from the free throw line, as he hit 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.

-Jones' 26 points ups his BIG EAST leading average to 24.8 in conference games only.

-Chris Howard handed out seven assists on the night, more than the entire team of Cincinnati, which had five all together.

Team Notes:
-The Bulls avenged their Jan. 20 78-70 loss to Cincinnati by beating their BIG EAST foe 65-57 at home to move into a tie with Cincinnati and Notre Dame at 6-7 in BIG EAST play. Prior to this season, USF had never won more than four games in BIG EAST play.

-The Bulls continued their home court advantage Tuesday against the Bearcats, as the Bulls collected their fourth straight BIG EAST home victory as they defeated Cincinnati in front of 6,607 fans, the largest crowd of the season.

-USF was firing on all cylinders in the second half of their victory of the Bearcats. The Bulls shot 60 percent from the field in the second half, and 48 percent for the game.