USF 73, Jackson State 64: Chris Perry scored a career-best 21 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to lead the host Bulls over the Tigers.
Corey Allen Jr. added 17 points for USF (2-0), which shot 52.4 percent and overcame 20 turnovers. Jaleel Cousins, Nehemias Morillo and Anthony Collins chipped in with nine points apiece and Collins dished out a game-high five assists for the Bulls, who have won their first two games for the second consecutive season.
Dontaveon Robinson led the offense for Jackson State (0-2), scoring 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Javeres Brent finished with 11 points off the bench for the Tigers, whose starters other than Robinson managed only 4-of-20 shooting.
Outside of Jackson State scoring the game's opening bucket, the Bulls never trailed in the first half and six points from Perry during an 18-9 run appeared to give USF complete control in the waning minutes before halftime. The Tigers would finish the opening 20 minutes strong, however, scoring nine of the half's final 12 points to enter the break trailing 38-31 after a 3-pointer from Yettra Specks at the buzzer.
Another Specks 3-pointer sparked 10 unanswered points to give Jackson State a 41-40 lead just over four minutes into the second stanza but ultimately served as a necessary wake-up call for USF. The Bulls responded with a 23-7 spurt, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Troy Holston Jr. and another from Allen with just over six minutes to play, to put the game away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: USF coach Orlando Antigua had all of his players make 100 free throws in practice yesterday and the Bulls responded by converting 10 of their first 12 attempts before finishing 24-of-32 from the line. ... Brent, whose 70 3-pointers were among the Southwestern Athletic Conference leaders a year ago, converted 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. ... After shooting only 25.8 percent from 3-point range last season, USF is 7-of-28 in its first two games this year.
Jackson State | South Florida | |
Dontaveon Robinson 16 | Scoring | Chris Perry 21 |
Dre'Sean Looney 4 | Assists | Anthony Collins 5 |
Pierre Crawford 5 | Rebounds | Chris Perry 10 |
Treshawn Bolden 2 | Free Throws Made | Chris Perry 9 |
Javeres Brent 2 | Steals | Anthony Collins 3 |
Kaven Bernard 2 | Blocks | Jaleel Cousins 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Jackson State | 64 | 39.3 | 7-16 | 9-14 | 11 | 27 | 2 | 9 | 16 |
South Florida | 73 | 52.4 | 5-14 | 24-32 | 12 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 20 |