By Tom Zebold

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – The Bulls seem to have turned over a new leaf in their season opener Saturday night.

Vermont's Matt Glass tipped in a rebound a fraction of a second too late, and the USF men's basketball team survived a furious Catamount comeback in a 61-59 victory at the University of Tampa.

"That was a game tonight that we didn't win last year," said Ron Anderson Jr., who led four Bulls in double figures with 16 points.

USF led by as many as 12 points with less than 10 minutes to go when Vermont started to chip away. Vermont worked the deficit all the way down to 1 with 10 seconds ago before Shaun Noriega gave the Bulls a little more room for error by making one of two free throws with 9 seconds left on the clock.

After a timeout, the Catamounts got the ball into the hands of Four McGlynn, who drove to the lane with four seconds remaining. McGlynn's layup hit the rim and Glass' tip-in was ruled a no-basket..

"They just kind of hung in there and hung in there," USF head coach Stan Heath said. "We were fortunate to get the win."

The game was far from perfect, as Heath agreed, but the Bulls know they can take many things from a close win like this one.

Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention Augustus Gilchrist scored 12 points and Victor Rudd Jr. had 12 more in his USF regular season debut.

Noriega had 15 of his own after going 4-for-5 from 3-point range on a night when USF was 61 percent from beyond the arc. Heath couldn't remember the last time a Bulls team shot that well.

"I like when we have a lot of guys contributing, so we're not just a one man or two man show," Heath said.

Another huge plus for USF was the fact it turned the ball over only five times, a vast difference from season's past.

"I think that cost us maybe six or seven games last year," Heath admitted.

The Bulls also found out they can rely on their senior big men when the game is on the line. Gilchrist and Anderson carried the load down the stretch in the second half by combining to score 16 of the team's final 25 points. Most of that production was done inside when a worn out Vermont defense failed to stay physical down low.

"They understand they're the guys we're counting on, especially in tight ballgames like this," Heath said.

Heath pointed to free throws as an area the Bulls must improve on after going 13-for-24 from the foul line, which helped Vermont remain in the game.

"We had a lead and free throws I think could have done it for us," he said. "This team probably needs to deal with a little adversity."

Heath and Anderson both said USF will be hard at work come Sunday at the free throw line in preparation for Monday's 7 p.m. home game at the St. Pete Times Forum against Marist.

"It's good to learn lessons in a win," Heath said with a smile.