By Sean Barows

GoUSFBulls.com

LAWRENCE - A strong second half performance propelled No. 14 Kansas to a victory over the Bulls at historic Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.

Solid team defense kept the USF men's basketball team in the game during the first half, but Kansas (5-2) was able to methodically pull away down the stretch in the second half, defeating the Bulls (5-4) on Saturday evening by a score of 70-42.

In a first half that featured five ties and nine lead changes, the Bulls' stifling zone defense forced nine turnovers and held the Jayhawks to 1-11 from 3-point range. Unfortunately, USF was unable to find much consistency on offense and went into the half trailing by three.

Kansas started the second half on a quick 7-0 run that increased their lead to 10 and set the tone for the rest of the game.

USF fought back and cut the lead down to five, but that's when Kansas really turned up the defensive pressure and started to pull away.

The Jayhawks used suffocating defense to keep the Bulls out of rhythm offensively for the majority of the game, forcing 17 turnovers while holding USF to their lowest point total of the season.

"We came here to find out a little bit more about ourselves and we did," head coach Stan Heath said. "We learned that we're not a 40-minute team and we've got to get there."

Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor led all scorers with 24 points to go along with five assists and really hurt the Bulls from long range in the second half by making four 3-pointers.

"Tyshawn Taylor in the second half was just the difference," Heath said.

In his first game back after suffering a shoulder injury, senior forward

Augustus Gilchrist led the Bulls in scoring with 11 points.

In his second-career start freshman point guard Anthony Collins had eight points, four rebounds and two steals. Shaun Noriega also added eight points off the bench for the Bulls.

"Noriega was terrific today," Heath said. "It was good for him to come back and give us a spark and it was good for his confidence too. I thought he was the bright spot in today's game for us."