University of South Florida
Marist
Rudd Breaks Out for 30 to Help USF Go 2-0
November 15, 2011 | Men's Basketball
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA โ Victor Rudd Jr. picked a pretty nice venue to have his breakout game as a Bull.
The sophomore transfer from Arizona State scored a game-high 30 points to power the USF men's basketball team to an 81-67 victory over Marist on Monday night at the St. Pete Times Forum.
"I think we saw a glimpse of how talented the young man is," head coach Stan Heath said.
Rudd, who sat out all of last year, scored 12 in his USF debut Saturday night and took over in the second half Tuesday to help the Bulls start the season at 2-0. The 6-foot-8 forward scored 20 of his points after the break and finished 11-for-21 from the field.
"I'm just trying to win," he said. "I had an opportunity to score a lot of points, but that would be the same for anybody."
Rudd scored nine of his points during a decisive 15-0 run in the second half that helped USF grab the lead back for good and go ahead, 57-46, with 10:32 remaining in the game.
"We got in rhythm within the offense and we kept running the play that we thought would score the ball," Rudd said.
The Bulls' lead never dipped below eight points the rest of the way and four USF players finished in double figures for the second-straight game.
Augustus Gilchrist shook off a tough first half to post 11 points and 12 rebounds for the fifth double-double of his USF career.
Ron Anderson Jr. scored 11 points, while reserves Blake Nash and Hugh Robertson combined for 20 points.
"I thought (Nash) and Hugh gave us a nice spark off the bench tonight," Heath said. "We needed it."
USF had a 32-29 advantage at halftime and trailed Marist (0-2) by as many as four after the break before the big run.
"They were real quick and they made a lot of shots. It was tough guarding them," Rudd said. "We had to adjust in the second half."
USF now has been in two close games to start the season after holding off Vermont, 61-59, in the opener.
"There are a lot of things we have to improve on, but I give this team a lot of credit," Heath said. "When we're getting hit in the face and hit in the mouth a little bit, we are responding."
One area of vast improvement from the opener to Monday was at the free throw line for USF. The Bulls went 15-for-18 against Marist after shooting 46 percent Saturday.
"I know after our last game, boy there was a seriousness and a focus during every free throw session that we had during practice," Heath said. "It was good to see the guys step up in that area."
USF looks to remain unbeaten Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it plays Division II perennial contender Florida Southern College at The Lakeland Center.
