TAMPA, Fla. (November 15, 2024) – The University of South Florida men's basketball team was back inside the Yuengling Center on Friday night as West Georgia made the trip to Tampa.
Jamille Reynolds recorded a double-double and tied a career-high in blocks as USF defeated UWG 74-55.
With the win, South Florida improved to 2-2 on the season, while West Georgia fell to 0-4 on the year. At least four players have finished in double digits in three of the first four games.
Jimmie Williams recorded a team-high 14 points. Reynolds posted a 12-point performance with a game-high 11 rebounds and tied a career-high with five blocks.
CJ Brown and
Brandon Stroud both tallied 11 points.
USF has made at least 70.0 percent of its free throws on at least 15 attempts in seven straight games dating back to last season. That ties the longest such streak for the Bulls since January 2011, with seven straight.
After the Wolves opened the game on a 4-0 run, the Bulls responded with a 4-0 run to tie it at 4-4. Brown capped off the run with a high-flying alley-oop.
West Georgia held a 12-9 advantage as the game went to the first media timeout.
Brown again showed off the hops with a thunderous one-handed slam and pulled the Bulls within one, 14-13.
The Wolves maintained a one-point lead, 18-17, with just over 11 minutes left in the opening stanza. The Bulls, however, were resilient and went on a 6-1 run to take a 23-19 lead. USF kept the pressure on and increased its lead to 30-23 with just under four minutes left until the break.
South Florida went on a 7-1 run, with five of those points coming at the free throw line. Brown was 4-for-4 at the line during that stretch. The Bulls took a 37-24 lead into the half.
West Georgia opened the second half with a 9-4 run. With an emphatic slam dunk in traffic, Reynolds got the fans on their feet and put the Bulls up by 10, 43-33.
Over the next three minutes, the game became a defensive battle, as both sides scored four points each. The Bulls hit their first 3-pointer of the game with 12 minutes left in the second half, but they rattled off two more and took a 53-39 lead with just under 11 minutes on the clock.
Williams scored five of the next seven points for USF, including a steal that led to a fastbreak dunk in transition. The Bulls extended their lead to 14, 60-44.
USF outscored UWG 14-11 to close out the game with a 74-55 victory.
Stroud and
Kasen Jennings tied for a game-high four assists. Stroud collected a season-high four steals for a game-high. Brown finished the night a perfect 1.000 percent from the field (3-of-3), from 3-point range (1-for-1), and at the free-throw line (4-of-4).
The USF bench outscored the UWG bench 32-8 as a team. 62.16 percent of the South Florida points came in the paint as the Bulls held a 46-26 advantage. USF capitalized on the ten forced turnovers, which resulted in 16 points.
Shelton Williams-Dryden produced a game-high 20 points for the Wolves. Kolten Griffin was the only other UWG player in double figures with 13 points. Griffin paced the team with nine rebounds. Kyric Davis tied for a game-high five blocks.
Notables
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Jamille Reynolds recorded his first double-double as a Bull with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He produced a career-high five blocks.
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Jimmie Williams notched a season-high 14 points, the most he has scored as a Bull.
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CJ Brown tied a career-high 11 points. He finished the night a perfect 1.000 percent from the field (3-of-3), from 3-point range (1-for-1), and at the free-throw line (4-of-4).
·
Brandon Stroud recorded double digits for the second straight game with 11 points.
· USF has made at least 70.0 percent of its free throws on at least 15 attempts in seven straight games dating back to last season. That ties the longest such streak for the Bulls since January 2011, with seven straight.
Up Next
The Bulls take to the road for the Myrtle Beach Invitational on November 21. South Florida opens the tournament with a matchup against Portland on ESPN2 or ESPNU at 2:30 p.m.
About USF Men's Basketball
The University of South Florida men's basketball, led by interim head coach Ben Fletcher, is a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls enter their 2024-25 campaign, presented by Tampa General Hospital, on the heels of their best season in program history, in which they claimed their first-ever regular season conference title, won a record 25 games, and earned a Top 25 ranking for the first time in program history. A presence on the college basketball scene for more than five decades, South Florida has earned two conference titles and three NCAA tournament bids (1990, 1992, and 2012), appeared in the NIT eight times, and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
South Florida is wearing patches with the initials AAR this season in memory of their head coach, Amir Abdur-Rahim, who passed away in October 2024.
The Bulls play their home games at the 10,400-seat Yuengling Center, located on South Florida's Tampa campus.
Men's basketball single-game and season tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls or by visiting USFBullsTix.com.
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