By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 10, 2017 – The Brian Gregory era of USF men's basketball began in thrilling fashion with a 60-59 victory over Florida Atlantic on Friday night.

Stephan Jiggetts sent the loud Sun Dome crowd of 4,192 to its feet with a go-ahead, pull-up jumper with 12 seconds remaining. Malik Martin (Miami) pulled down the final rebound with two seconds left to help deliver Gregory's 249^th career victory and his first with the Bulls in the regular season opener.

Tulia Da Silva (Formiga, Brazil) poured in a career-high 20 points and used an all-out effort to force a crucial turnover with 27.3 seconds left that set the stage for Jiggetts' game-winning shot in the paint.

Jiggetts, a graduate transfer for Fairleigh Dickinson, shined in his USF debut with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Grad transfer Terrence Samuel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with nine points and dished out four of his game-high six assists in a second half that kept Bulls fans on the edge of their seats.

USF started the game on an 11-2 run and headed into the break with a 33-29 advantage before the lead changed hands four times. Dedicated to playing team defense, the Bulls finished the job by limiting FAU to a 1-for-4 shooting performance from the field in the final two minutes along with Da Silva forcing the pivotal turnover in the final minute.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory's thoughts on the big win and the environment in the Sun Dome:
"I'm very pleased with the result. We had a great environment tonight, hopefully something we can build on. Jose and the ladies got it going with a great win earlier and the electricity in the building continued there and I thought it was great… Our guys figured out a way to get the job done and made some plays there at the end that you have to make."

Gregory on Da Silva's career performance:
"Over the last two weeks, his daily habits have just gotten better and better and better. It's not rocket science. If you practice harder and practice better on a daily basis, you have a better chance of playing well and that's exactly what he's doing."

Stephan Jiggetts on the play that set up his game-winning shot:
"I knew I had the pick-and-roll. Payton came baseline and he drew a lot of attention. Then Tulio ducked in, so that opened up the lane for the floater."

Tulio Da Silva on the team being ready to pull out a close game:
"We prepared for close-game situations. We knew in situations like that to stay relaxed. In our closed scrimmage, we had those situations where we had to play it out and see how it goes. As far as the coaching staff, they trust in us and we trust in them. We just know what we have to do to get the 'W.'"

Key Stats
36: Thanks to USF's relentless defense, FAU shot 36 percent from the field and went just 25 percent from beyond the arc.
20: USF scored 20 points off 12 FAU turnovers.
15-for-17: USF's performance at the free throw line, which included a 2-for-2 effort by Jiggetts to cut the FAU lead to 59-58 with 54 seconds remaining.

Notables

• USF improved to 35-12 all-time in season openers, including a 29-6 mark at home. Friday marked USF's second straight season-opening win.
• Finishing with a career-high 20 points, Tulio Da Silva has scored in double digits in five of his past six games, dating back to last season.
• All eight Bulls that saw action scored points. Grad transfers Stephan Jiggetts, Terrence Samuel and Payton Banks combined to score 26 points.

 
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, Gregory was introduced as the 10^th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa.
USF has retired three numbers in its 47-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.
For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.