TAMPA, NOV. 6, 2018 – David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored 17 points and USF defeated Alabama A&M 80-63 Tuesday evening at the Yuengling Center to open the college basketball season.
Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) added 16 points off the bench,
T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) finished with 10 points and the duo combined to make six of USF's nine three-pointers to help the Bulls shoot 42.9 percent (9-for-21) from beyond the arc.
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) tied his career-high with 10 assists and
Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in his USF debut.
Arthur Johnson paced Alabama A&M with 20 points and four steals and Andre Kennedy scored 15 points.
USF (1-0) led by as many as 15 points in the first half before Alabama A&M used a 23-10 run to pull within two points (33-31) on a three-pointer by Johnson in the final minute.
Alabama A&M (0-1) took its only lead on a bucket from Johnson early in the second half to put the Bulldogs ahead 41-40, but USF answered with an 18-6 run to build a 58-47 advantage.
Justin Brown gave USF its largest lead when his three-pointer from the wing put the Bulls ahead 80-61 with just over a minute remaining.
Quotable
"I thought we did a lot of good things over the first eight or 10 minutes. Games are going to be tough but we didn't lose out poise. The Alabama A&M zone gave us problems early on, but we made an adjustment early in the second half to get the ball inside more and our posts did some good things down low." – USF Head Coach
Brian Gregory.
Key Stats
20 – USF finished with 20 assists on 30 made baskets
23 – USF forced 23 Alabama A&M turnovers
11 – USF registered 11 steals and picked up four from
Laquincy Rideau
35 – USF outscored the Alabama A&M bench 35-9
Notable
- USF improved to 36-12 all-time in season openers.
- USF is now 1-0 all-time against Alabama A&M and 8-2 against the SWAC.
- USF is 7-3 at home against non-conference competition under Brian Gregory.
- USF shot 56.6 percent from the field (30-for-53).
Up Next
USF returns to the Yuengling Center on Monday, Nov. 12 when the Bulls host Austin Peay at 7 p.m.
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.
