TAMPA, FEB. 16, 2019 – Shizz Alston scored 24 points and made the game-winning free throw to lift Temple to a 70-69 overtime win over USF Saturday evening at the Yuengling Center.
Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) tied it at 69 with 11.3 seconds left in overtime before Alston was fouled on the ensuing possession with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Temple (19-7, 9-4) was whistled for a foul on the final possession that sent USF to the free throw line with 0.8 seconds on the clock. Two unsuccessful attempts gave Temple its second overtime win over the Bulls this season, as the Owls defeated USF 82-80 on Jan. 12 in Philadelphia.
J.P. Moorman put Temple up 64-59 in overtime with a three-pointer after Alston opened the extra session with a layup on the Owls' first possession. After USF used two free throws from
David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) and a layup by Rideau to tie the game at 64, Alston hit a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to push the Temple lead to three.
After Alston made a free throw to extend the Temple advantage to four, Collins made two more free throws to cut the deficit in half and setup Rideau's game-tying layup in the final seconds.
Nate Pierre-Louis added 14 points for Temple and made two free throws in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.
Rideau finished with a team-high 16 points and five assists and reached 1,000 career points. Collins added 15 points and
Xavier Castaneda (Chicago) scored 11 points and had two steals.
Alexis Yetna (Paris) grabbed 13 rebounds and
Michael Durr (Atlanta) had 11 and two blocks.
USF (17-7, 7-5) overcame an eight-point deficit in the first half to lead 23-20 at halftime and hold Temple to a season low for first-half points.
T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) gave USF its largest lead with a three-pointer at the 9:39 mark of the second half that put the Bulls ahead 45-36. Temple responded with a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 51-50 lead on a layup by Justyn Hamilton.
Key Stats
40 – Temple scored 40 points in the paint.
22 – Temple scored 22 points off 17 USF turnovers.
14 – The game featured six lead changes and eight ties.
12 – USF finished with 12 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second chance points.
Notable
- Laquincy Rideau scored a team-high 16 points and reached 1,000 career points.
- Alexis Yetna had registered double-digit rebounds in both games since returning from an injury.
- USF finished with at least 40 rebounds for the 12th time this season.
- Laquincy Rideau had five assists and has only three games this season with fewer than four assists.
- David Collins made six free throws and has now made 132 to rank fifth on the USF single-season list.
- USF made six three-pointers and has made the seventh-most in a single season in school history with 171.
Up Next
The Bulls step out of conference play to host Florida College Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Yuengling Center. Admission and parking are free.
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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.