By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, FEB. 19, 2019 – Minus star guards
David Collins and
Laquincy Rideau, up-and-coming Bulls gained valuable experience in a 95-54 victory over Florida College at the Yuengling Center on Tuesday.
All 10 Bulls who played scored while USF (18-8) improved to 14-3 at home this season. Tuesday's game took the place of the Bulls' previously scheduled contest at Charlotte that was cancelled on Dec. 9 due to Winter Storm Diego.
Junior forward
Antun Maricevic (Zagreb, Croatia) made seven of nine shots from the field on the way to posting a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Freshman
Rashun Williams (Arlington, Ga.) also stepped up at guard, setting new career highs in points (14), field goals (5) and minutes played (24).
Freshman
Xavier Castaneda (Chicago) matched his career high with 12 points and reached new career milestones in assists (6) and minutes (34) in his second start. The guard had eight points and five assists in the first half that saw the Bulls build a 46-28 advantage against Florida College (12-16), which is located in nearby Temple Terrace.
Sophomore forward
Mayan Kiir (Bradenton, Fla.) scored a career-high 15 points during a 5-for-6 shooting performance from the field and grabbed eight of USF's season-high 56 rebounds. Redshirt senior guard
T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) added 12 points in a game fans got to see for free thanks to USF Athletics.
Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on the Bulls' matchup with local team Florida College, located in Temple Terrace:
"We were in a tough spot in terms of finding a replacement game. Florida College and (head coach Pat) Todd, I appreciate what they did. If we were going to bring a team in to play, we wanted to try to bring someone in close by, with the local flavor like we did when we played Tampa. I think that's important for us to build those bridges with the local teams. We got everything out of today that we were hoping to. Guys got to play who maybe hadn't logged as many minutes. I give our guys credit, they responded extremely well."
Redshirt senior guard T.J. Lang on the team's performance:
"Everybody that played, played really well today. Antun, he's been engaged and locked in at practice. We all kind of had a feeling he would play well. Rashun really stepped up. Mayan brought unbelievable energy and played extremely well. Everybody who stepped foot on the court came out and played extremely hard. I'm just proud of everybody."
Key Stats
56 – USF set a season high in rebounds with 56 and had a 33-4 edge in second-chance points.
54 – USF shot 54 percent from the field (34-for-63).
48 – The Bulls had a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint.
Notables
- USF improved to 15-4 at home against non-conference competition under head coach Brian Gregory.
- USF's 14 home victories at the Yuengling Center this season are the program's most since winning 15 during the 1982-83 season.
- Tuesday's clash with Florida College took the place of the Bulls' previously scheduled game at Charlotte that was cancelled on Dec. 9 due to Winter Storm Diego. USF Athletics treated fans to free admission and parking.
- USF (18-8) is two victories away from its first 20-win season since 2011-12.
- Star guards David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) and Laquincy Rideau (West Palm Beach, Fla.) did not play in Tuesday's game.
- Senior guard Ron Lubin (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) scored his first points as a Bull on a layup in the second half.
Up Next
USF jumps back into conference play 6 p.m. Saturday at Houston (TV: ESPN2).
The Bulls then return to the Yuengling Center to host rival UCF in a War on I-4 clash on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 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 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.
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