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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA – The Bulls kicked their offense into high gear in a 91-65 victory over Bethune-Cookman before a crowd of 3,549 at the Sun Dome on Tuesday night.
USF (2-0) scored its most points in a game since defeating Providence, 99-93, on Feb. 27, 2010 and finished with five players in double figures.
Corey Allen Jr. stepped in for starting point guard Anthony Collins to post a game-high 21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals. Collins missed his second straight game with an injury.
"It doesn't matter to me if I start or come off the bench. I just take the number of minutes I get and produce," Allen said.
Victor Rudd registered his second double-digit scoring game of the season with 14 points, while freshman Chris Perry added 13 points. Musa Abdul-Aleem finished with 12 points, Martino Brock added 10 points and freshman center John Egbunu grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
USF is now 14-1 in its all-time series with Bethune-Cookman that begin with an 89-52 victory back on Dec. 19, 1981.
"It's been a while since we've scored 91 points, so that was good to see the guys put the ball in the basket, especially in the second half," said head coach Stan Heath, who is now one victory away from reaching No. 200 in his 13-year career.
USF built a 38-29 lead by halftime with newcomers leading the way. Allen was the first Bull in double figures with 13 points after starting 4-for-5 from the field. Perry posted eight points and three of USF's five blocks.
Bethune-Cookman cut the Bulls' lead to 16-14 with 10:30 remaining until halftime but didn't score another point until the 3:51 mark. In the meantime, USF jumped out on a 14-0 run, powered by six points apiece from Brock and Perry.
A 3-pointer by Allen pumped the Bulls' lead up to 38-18 with 1:36 to play, but Bethune-Cookman made it a nine-point game with a 3-pointer by Mikel Trapp just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats put together the comeback despite shooting 26 percent (9-for-34) and committing 11 turnovers. Trapp made two of Bethune-Cookman's five 3-pointers in the opening period.
"We have a few guys that can make some shots," said head coach Gravelle Craig, who saw his Wildcats go 10-for-28 from 3-point range overall.
USF put the Wildcats' rally to rest by going on a 9-3 run to start the second half and the Bulls' lead never dipped below nine points the rest of the way.
Brock became the fourth Bull in doubles figures with a jumper that gave USF a 52-39 lead with 16:14 to play and the offense didn't slow down from there. The Bulls passed the 80-point mark with a Musa Abdul-Aleem jumper with 4:04 remaining and moved beyond the 90-point mark with a three-point play by Abdul-Aleem with 30 seconds remaining.
The Bulls scored 27 points off 18 Bethune-Cookman turnovers while the Wildcats shot 29 percent from the field. A total of nine USF players scored and bench players contributed 29 points.
"It was a good all-around effort and a lot of guys played a lot of minutes," Heath said. "I think our depth is our strength and we've got to be able to wear people down a little bit. I thought that happened."
The Bulls look to bring home Heath's 200th victory at Bowling Green on Friday night. First tip is set for 8:30 p.m. and the game can be seen online at ESPN3.com.
