TAMPA, JAN. 19, 2019 –
David Collins scored a season-high 23 points, including 21 in the second half, and added three assists and two steals, but No. 17 Houston held off USF on its way to a 69-60 victory Saturday evening at the Yuengling Center.
Breaon Brady scored 13 points and Armoni Brooks added 11 to lead Houston to its third straight victory. Nate Hinton finished with 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Alexis Yetna (Paris) scored 12 points and had seven rebounds for USF before fouling out late in the second half.
Houston (18-1, 5-1) limited USF to 23.8 percent shooting (5-for-21) and finished the first half on a 16-6 run to open a 35-25 lead. The Cougars built the advantage to 16 before Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored six points over a two-minute stretch to cap a 12-0 run and help the Bulls whittle their deficit to 47-43 with 10:38 remaining.
Brison Gresham's three-point play and Galen Robinson's first points of the night on a short jumper helped the Cougars build the lead back to double-digits. Collins made three free throws to make it a six-point game before Houston closed it out from the foul line.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the game:
"We just played a team that is very, very good and never gets out of sorts, in terms of what they try to get done offensively and defensively. I thought we did some good things, but not enough to beat a team like Houston. It's hard to have the turnovers we had in the backcourt, and it's hard to have quality looks and not be able to make any of them. I thought we fought pretty hard, but Houston got every 50-50 ball, not because we weren't playing hard, but because they just play at a whole other level, and that's why they are good."
Key Stats
30 – Houston scored 30 points in the paint and held USF to 16.
25 – Houston received 25 points from its bench and saw all 10 players score at least one point.
80.0 – Houston shot 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
62 – There were 62 fouls called and 76 free throws taken.
Notable
- David Collins scored a season-high 23 points and tied a career-high with 10 free throws made.
- Laquincy Rideau scored eight points and needs 84 more points for 1,000 in his career.
- Laquincy Rideau is 11 steals shy of a new USF single-season record.
- USF took over 40 free throws for the third time this season. The Bulls entered play having taken the fourth-most attempts of any team in the NCAA.
Up Next
The Bulls continue league play Tuesday at 8 p.m. when the Bulls host Wichita State on CBS Sports Network at the Yuengling Center.
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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.
