TAMPA, NOV. 5, 2019 – David Collins scored 18 points and USF held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the seventh-fewest points in a game in school history en route to a 70-41 victory Tuesday evening at the Yuengling Center in the season opening game of the 2019-20 season presented by CenterState.

Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) made 10 of his 17 free throw attempts to move into seventh place all-time at USF with 297 career free throws. Collins also finished with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. Justin Brown (Atlanta) poured in 12 points and made three 3-pointers.

USF closed the first half on a 17-4 run and turned a two-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Bulls outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 9-2 over the first seven minutes of the second half to open up a 46-28 advantage.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff cut the deficit to 13 points midway through the half, but the USF defense allowed the Lions to just one field goal over the final 10:59 seconds and would go on to lead by as many as 31 points.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the game:
"We did some really good things on the defensive end by holding them to 28.9 percent from the field and forcing 21 turnovers. We were really active off the ball and used our length well. Offensively, it's difficult in the first game when you face 40 minutes of zone because we don't play a lot of zone, but I thought we got a lot of good shots around the basket. We got to the free throw line 35 times, which is also something we try to get done. We were aggressive, we just need to do a better job of finishing those plays around the basket."
 
Notable
• USF held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the seventh-fewest points in a single game in school history.
• David Collins made 10 free throws and ranks seventh all-time in school history with 297 career free throws made.
• USF improved to 37-12 all-time in season openers and has won its last four.
• Justin Brown made three 3-pointers and is 14 treys away from moving into the top 10 in school history.
 
Key Stats
15 – USF limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 15 points in the second half.   
13 – Arkansas-Pine Bluff made just 13 field goals and shot 28.9 percent.     
17 – USF scored 17 points off 21 Arkansas-Pine Bluff turnovers.

Up Next
USF continues a four-game homestand Sunday at noon when the Bulls welcome Boston College to 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 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 owns nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship. 

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, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 CBI championship.

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