By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, FEB. 10, 2019 – Mayan Kiir's big-time block before the buzzer sent things to overtime and USF took care of business at the free throw line down the stretch of a 72-68 victory over East Carolina in front of 5,707 fans at the Yuengling Center on Sunday.

USF (17-6, 7-4 in AAC) secured its first five-game winning streak in league play since the 1991-92 season by sinking 16 free throws after David Collins registered the Bulls' final field goal with 6:09 left in regulation.

Collins finished with a game-high 21 points after making nine of 12 free throws, including three in overtime to help USF go 10-for-14 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes. The sophomore guard from Youngstown, Ohio added nine rebounds and five assists in his third straight 20-point outing.

Star forward Alexis Yetna (Paris) missed his second straight game with an injury and Kiir played a huge role in his place. In addition to making the defensive play of the game, the sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., scored eight of his career-high 13 points after USF headed into halftime trailing, 39-28.

Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) made a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game at 62-62 with 12 seconds left in regulation. The redshirt junior guard finished with 12 points and four assists while the Bulls posted their second five-game winning streak of the season, a program first since 1990-91.

Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) added 10 points while freshman forward Michael Durr (Atlanta) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds as USF dominated on the boards by a 46-22 margin.

ECU (9-14, 2-9 AAC) knocked down six of its first eight threes on the way to building a 39-28 halftime lead. The Pirates opened the game with a 17-7 advantage after making their first four shots from long range.

USF answered the bell right after the break and used a 14-2 run to take a 47-45 lead with 12:17 to play. ECU jumped back ahead by three before USF fired back with a 7-0 run and Brown's three spotted the Bulls a 54-50 advantage.

The Pirates took the lead back with 3:37 left in regulation and stayed ahead until Rideau's game-tying free throws with 12 seconds remaining. USF pulled ahead for the final time with 1:53 left in overtime on a pair of free throws by Kiir and the Bulls' defense limited ECU to a 2-for-8 shooting performance from the field in the final period.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the keys to the Bulls' fifth straight victory:
"You've got to give our guys credit. They kind of dug in there in the second half and got just enough stops to put us in some offensive positions where we could score the ball finally and do what we do, which is defend. We held them to 38 percent in the second half, 25 percent in the overtime. We outrebounded them, 46-22, and the final piece that we do so well is we get to the free throw line, and it makes a big difference. We didn't score a basket for the last six minutes or in overtime, but we scored 16 points because we're an aggressive, hard-charging team and we've gotten better shooting the free throws."

David Collins on the progress the 17-6 Bulls have made since the beginning of the season:
"It feels great because we work hard. This was our vision the whole time. We knew we had people doubting us. We just had to go out there and show everybody that we're here."

Mayan Kiir on what the Bulls have to do to keep producing wins the rest of the way:
"At the same time, we've still got to stay humble and stick to what we do that got us this far."

Key Stats
5 – The Bulls extended their winning streak to five games in league play for the first time since 1991-92 in the Metro Conference.
16 – USF produced its final 16 points at the free throw line and went 10-for-14 from the charity stripe in overtime.
34.4 – ECU's shooting percentage in the second half and overtime (10-for-29) after the Pirates shot 57.7 percent on the way to a 39-28 halftime lead.
46 – USF totaled 46 rebounds, 24 more than ECU, and scored 20 second-chance points.
 
Notables

• USF extended its winning streak to five games in league play for the first time since the 1991-92 season in the Metro Conference. The Bulls have put together two five-game winning streaks this season. The last time the program accomplished that feat was back in 1990-91.
• USF improved to 10-8 in its all-time series against East Carolina that dates back to the 2002-03 season.
• Star forward Alexis Yetna missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury. The redshirt freshman ranks 24^th nationally with a conference-leading 9.8 rebounds per game and has totaled 10 double-doubles this season. "Yetna is a day-to-day. He's moving around much better," Gregory said after Sunday's game.
• USF is 13-2 in games at the Yuengling Center this season.
• David Collins has averaged 21.3 points in the past three games.
• Laquincy Rideau is 22 points away from reaching 1,000 in his collegiate career.

 
Up Next
USF travels to Orlando for a War on I-4 clash with rival UCF on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The 7 p.m. matchup will be televised on ESPNews.

The Bulls are back at the Yuengling Center on Saturday, Feb. 16 to host Temple at 6 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
 
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 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.

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