By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - The Bulls started off red-hot but weren't able to keep it up down the stretch in a 73-65 loss to No. 24/23 Notre Dame on Saturday at the Sun Dome.
The Irish (16-4, 4-3) seized the lead during a 20-3 run in the second half and held off the Bulls by shooting 54 percent from the field. Jerian Grant's 18 points led four Notre Dame players in double figures while Jack Cooley's 14 rebounds helped the Irish finish with a 34-17 edge on the glass.
"It's a very good offensive team. They took advantage when we made mistakes," USF head coach Stan Heath said.
Freshman forward Zach LeDay posted a career-high 17 points in a reserve role for a USF team that shot 60 percent in the first half on the way to 35-28 lead at halftime. The Bulls also got 11 points from freshman guard JaVontae Hawkins and finished with a 28-7 edge in points off the bench.
"We work really hard. We shoot every night and put in extra work," LeDay said. "Coach believes in me, so I have to produce."
Star point guard Anthony Collins scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half that saw the Bulls break out of a shooting slump. Collins went 4-for-4 from the field in the half and was one of five Bulls to connect from long range.
"He just keeps pressure on you getting into the lane deeper and deeper," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. "If we didn't fix that, we would have lost by 15. We did a better job in the second half."
A Toarlyn Fitzpatrick 3-pointer gave USF the go-ahead basket with 3:12 to go before the break and the Bulls extended their lead with a LeDay layup and a Victor Rudd jumper. Notre Dame went scoreless for almost the last five minutes of the period.
"Our zone was really effective in the first half and that gave us the stops we needed to keep momentum going and create a lead," Heath said.
The Bulls started the second half with a nine-point lead thanks to an alley-oop dunk by Rudd, but they cooled off at the wrong time. The Irish seized the momentum with a 20-3 run that gave them a 48-40 lead before a LeDay layup ended a USF scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes.
A jumper in the paint by LeDay got USF within four with 9:38 to play but that's as close as the Bulls would get the rest of the way. Grant answered with a three-point play and Eric Atkins knocked down his third 3-pointer to give Notre Dame a 58-48 lead with 8:30 remaining.
"Once they got momentum going in the second half, we just couldn't get it back," Heath said. "We couldn't get that sustainable run to get that momentum back."
Tom Knight finished with 17 points, Atkins added 13 points and Pat Connaughton had 12 points for Notre Dame, which lost three of its past four games before heading to Tampa.
"We have to put this game behind us and improve our defense," Heath said.
USF (10-9, 1-6) headed to the airport following Saturday's game for a trip to Milwaukee, Wisc., where the Bulls will face Marquette 9 p.m. Monday in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
