National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
South Florida 65, Central Florida 56
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Where: UCF Arena, Orlando, Florida
Officials: # James Breeding, # Brent Hampson, # Alfred Smith
Attendance: 4904

South Florida 65, Central Florida 56: Jawanza Poland had a team-high 18 points and the Bulls held off a late rally by the host Knights to avenge a season-opening loss to their in-state rivals and win their fourth straight game.

South Florida point guard Anthony Collins (neck) and forward Victor Rudd (concussion) were questionable coming into the game, but each was in the starting lineup and played a major factor. Collins poured in 16 points and had a game-high 10 assists, while Rudd contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls (9-3).

After an early 19-12 South Florida lead, Central Florida went on a 15-0 run over a stretch of 6:10. The Bulls charged back with three straight 3-pointers, including a pair from Musa Abdul-Aleem for a 28-27 halftime lead.

The Knights (9-4) trailed by as many as 13 after the break when Collins and Rudd hooked up for a highlight reel alley-oop, but Central Florida would make a game of it down the stretch. Trailing 53-44 with 5:51 to play, a put back by Isaiah Sykes (17 points) off a miss by Keith Clanton sparked a 9-0 run to tie the game before a Toarlyn Fitzpatrick 3-pointer and six free throws from Collins helped seal the victory.

Clanton scored 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Fitzpatrick finished with 10 points for South Florida.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Central Florida fell to the Bulls for the first time in the last four meetings and trail the all-time series 20-7... The Bulls followed up a 61-point performance in a winning effort against George Mason with its second lowest point total in a winning effort this season... Clanton's seven double-doubles lead Conference USA and rank among the best in the nation.

Top Game Performances
 
South Florida   Central Florida
Jawanza Poland 18 Scoring Keith Clanton 18
Anthony Collins 10 Assists Calvin Newell 5
Victor Rudd 11 Rebounds Keith Clanton 14
Anthony Collins 8 Free Throws Made Keith Clanton 3
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick 3 Steals Calvin Newell 2
N/A Blocks Keith Clanton 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Florida 65 39.3 7-21 14-18 15 28 0 5 6
Central Florida 56 43.1 4-22 8-16 12 29 3 4 9