71
Stetson STET 1-7
75
Winner USF USF 5-2
Stetson STET
1-7
71
Final
75
USF USF
5-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Stetson STET 34 37 71
USF USF 40 35 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By TOM ZEBOLD | USF Senior Writer

Bulls Hold Off Hatters to Reach 5-2

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 28, 2018 – Alexis Yetna led five Bulls in double figures with a career-high 18 points as USF held off hot-shooting Stetson, 75-71, at the Yuengling Center on Wednesday night.

Yetna (Paris) also registered his third career double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds and his two free throws in the final 2:07 helped secure the Bulls' 14th straight victory over the Hatters.

USF (5-2) has posted its most wins in the month of November since the 2014-15 season after withstanding a 56-percent shooting performance in the second half by Stetson (1-7).

Junior guard Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored all 12 of his points in the first half that saw the Bulls grab a 40-34 lead. Star sophomore guard David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored eight of his 10 points after the break and his layup spotted USF its largest advantage, 64-54, with 9:45 remaining.

Senior guard T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) finished with 11 points and his second three-pointer of the night gave the Bulls a six-point cushion with 5:15 to play. Stetson pulled within two with 2:32 remaining but missed two threes in the final minute with USF ahead by three points. Yetna put the game away with two free throws in his fifth straight double-digit scoring performance.

Junior forward Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) also was a key contributor, scoring seven of his career-high 10 points after the break and adding four rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 42-31 edge on the glass.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the keys to the Bulls' hard-fought victory:
"Give our guys credit in terms of doing just enough of what you need to do to get a win. I thought the three areas that won us the game – being able to switch into the zone. We've been able to get some practice time the last two days and I told our guys, 'We need to be able to feel comfortable and confident if we go to the zone.'… The other thing was the rebounds, we were plus-11 on the glass, and we were plus-13 points from the free throw line. It makes a big difference."

Gregory on the new-look Bulls learning how to win with a new cast of players seven games into the season:
"We're going to be in a lot of close games because we do compete, we do fight and we do play hard. But we're just learning to play together and learning what we need to do to be successful. Today we made enough plays to get it done."

Key Stats
42.9 – USF's shooting percentage from the field overall after making 46.4 percent of its attempts in the first half.
42 – USF grabbed at least 40 rebounds for the fourth time this season and third time in the past four games.
21 – The Bulls made 21 free throws compared to the Hatters' eight.
18 – USF's total of offensive rebounds, which led to 13 second-chance points.

Notable
  • USF improved to 20-7 all-time against Stetson and has won the past 14 games in the series.
  • The Bulls are 10-4 at home against non-conference opponents under head coach Brian Gregory.
  • Alexis Yetna is averaging 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds over his past five games.
  • USF finished with five players in double figures for the first time since Jan. 31, 2018 against Memphis.
Up Next
USF finishes up its four-game home stand Friday against Colgate at 8:30 p.m. (TV: ESPN3). Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.

To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men's' basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).

About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, Gregory was introduced as the 10th 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. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14. 

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.
 
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