Rutgers 74, South Florida 73: Kadeem Jack finished with 20 points and scored the game-winning basket with 14 seconds to play as the Scarlet Knights turned away the visiting Bulls.
J.J. Moore also added 20 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Rutgers (11-18, 5-11 American Athletic Conference), which snapped a four-game losing streak. Wally Judge and Myles Mack each contributed eight points as the Scarlet Knights erased a 15-point second-half deficit, one game after coughing up a 15-point lead in a loss to Central Florida.
Victor Rudd had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead South Florida (12-17, 3-13), which lost its sixth straight game. John Egbunu added 12 points, five rebounds and tied a career-high with four blocks while Zach LeDay totaled 10 points for the Bulls.
The Bulls started the second half with an 8-3 spurt to extend their lead to 50-35 before the Scarlet Knights made their push, outscoring South Florida 26-7 in an 8:49 span to move ahead 61-57 with 8:22 remaining. After six lead changes in the waning minutes, Jack's late jumper in the paint put Rutgers in front for good as Rudd's runner on the final possession fell short and Egbunu couldn't get a tip attempt to go at the buzzer.
Rutgers took a nine-point lead 8 ½ minutes into the first half before South Florida used a 19-6 spurt, led by eight points from LeDay, to gain a 29-24 advantage. Rudd added six points in the final 4:09 of the opening 20 minutes to help the Bulls take a 42-32 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rutgers moved to 6-1 at home against the Bulls and has rolled off four straight home wins in the series. ... Rudd is averaging 18.4 points over his last nine games after scoring six points or fewer in three of his previous four contests. ... The Scarlet Knights have topped 70 points only twice in their last six games - both wins over South Florida.
South Florida | Rutgers | |
Victor Rudd 26 | Scoring | Kadeem Jack 20 |
Josh Heath 4 | Assists | Jerome Seagears 4 |
Victor Rudd 9 | Rebounds | J.J. Moore 7 |
John Egbunu 6 | Free Throws Made | J.J. Moore 7 |
Shemiye McLendon 1 | Steals | Kadeem Jack 2 |
John Egbunu 4 | Blocks | Kadeem Jack 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
South Florida | 73 | 45.5 | 5-9 | 18-21 | 11 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
Rutgers | 74 | 39.3 | 6-19 | 20-22 | 11 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 4 |