TAMPA, DEC.  22, 2016 – Redshirt freshman Tulio Da Silva and junior Geno Thorpe each scored 18 points to lead the USF men's basketball team, which never trailed, in an 81-53 rout of Delaware Thursday at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls, who finished the nonconference portion of the season with a 6-5 record, committed a season-low 10 turnovers. USF shot 49.1 percent from the field and held Delaware (6-6) to 27.3 percent, the lowest for a USF opponent this season. It was perhaps the best defensive performance of the season for the Bulls as the Blue Hens' 53 points was the fewest of any USF opponent.

USF bolted out to a 13-2 lead at the 15:42 mark of the first half after a 3-pointer by freshman Michael Bibby (Phoenix). A layup by freshman forward Malik Fitts (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), put the Bulls ahead 31-21 with 6:33 left to play in the first. After that point, the Blue Hens never got to within single digits of the Bulls.

Da Silva had eight rebounds to go with his 18 points, on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Thorpe was 8-of-8 from the free throw line, helping the Bulls go 24-of-34 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe. It was the most free throws of the season for USF.

Quotables

USF head coach Orlando Antigua
On the win:

“I can't say enough on how Geno (Thorpe) and Mike (Bibby) played. When Geno picked up the second foul, Jake (Bodway) was able to come in and stabilize us for a little bit.”

“We are happy and excited for the kids, from top to bottom.”

On Michael Bibby:

“Every time we've called on Mike, whether it's been to play for 37 minutes or 3 minutes, he's responded. For a young kid he continues to get better.”

“All of our freshmen are getting better and that's what you want to see. That's encouraging to us and now we just have to keep pushing them to keep helping them to get better.”

“The biggest thing was to take care of the ball and I thought we did that.”

On Geno Thorpe:

”He and I had a chance to spend some time and talk about what his role is for us. How we need the Geno that was having five, six assists and also being able to score. I thought he did that. He had a great balance and when he brings that balance to us it really helps everyone.”

On playing 10 players:

“I was happy for those kids. All of them are battling day in and day out. At times you can't get everyone in but for Henry (Beard) and Yito (Alvarado) to be able to get into the game, that fired up the guys on the bench. I'm really happy for those guys because they work just as hard as everyone else.

Key Stats

·        USF tied for its largest lead in any game this season, 29, when the score was 79-50 with 2:05 left to play.

Notables:

·        Freshman forward Luis Santos (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with a career-high nine rebounds to go with eight points.

·        Junior guard Jake Bodway (Bloomington, Minn.) finished with a career-high seven points and had his first career block.

·        Junior forward Isaiah Manderson scored his first points as a Bull. He made his only field goal late in the second half and finished with two points.

·        Freshman walk-ons, Yito Alvarado (Puerto Rico) and Henry Beard (Seminole, Fla.) made their collegiate debuts late in the second half.

·        For the third time this season, USF had more assists (13), than turnovers (10).

·        All 11 eligible, healthy players logged at least two minutes.

Up Next:

USF opens American Athletic Conference play at East Carolina Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

The USF men's basketball team is led by Orlando Antigua, who is in his third season as the head coach after spending the previous six season as an assistant to Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari.

USF has retired three numbers in its 46-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times. In the 2011-12 season, USF was one win away from an appearance in the Sweet 16.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.