South Florida 89, Bethune-Cookman 64

[Guest HowieP1]

AP game story for those who missed it:

South Florida 89, Bethune-Cookman 64

The Associated Press

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Seniors Brian Swift and Terrence Leather combined for 41 points to lead South Florida past Bethune-Cookman 89-64 Monday night.

Swift scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half as South Florida (4-0) built a lead that peaked at 83-55 on a free throw by Leather with 3:27 remaining.

Leather finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists. James Holmes added 17 points and Marlyn Bryant had 12 points, six rebounds and six steals as South Florida began the season with four victories for the third time in four years.

Kory Crumbley hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull Bethune-Cookman (1-1) within six shortly before the intermission. South Florida responded with a 15-0 run to take a 21-point lead 4 1/2 minutes into the second half.

Crumbley and Michael Williams each scored 12 to pace the Wildcats. Nicholas Berry added 11 and Antonio Webb had 10.

Bethune-Cookman led twice in the opening moments, but South Florida scored the next eight points to make it 10-4 and never trailed again.

The neutral-court victory was the first for the Bulls in its past 12 games away from home. They lead the series 12-0.

Last modified: November 29. 2004 9:29PM

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041129/APS/411291163

[Velcro]

beat ya to it ;D

[Guest HowieP1]

beat ya to it ;D

GMTA!  ;D

But, I put in a message Icon, a full title and a link, so you cheated.  

[Velcro]

you caught me... i took a shortcut...thought i would get away with it

[ChiTownBull]

nice to see them win the ones they should be winning  ;D

[bigbull]

For the few of us that were there, they continue to look great and I still cannot get over how great James Holmes looks.  And another game of 78% free throw shooting and over 50% from the field.  Wow

[Guest HowieP1]

Neener Neener!  ;D

OFFICIAL story:

USF Basketball (Men)

News Back

USF Opens Second Half on a Tear to Run Away From Bethune Cookman

(November 29, 2004) Lakeland, Fla. -- The USF men’s basketball team opened the second half with a 14-2 run to roll away from Bethune-Cookman by a final margin of 89-64 in the Lakeland Center tonight and run the team’s record to 4-0. Brian Swift led all scorers with 21 points, while Terrence Leather added 20 points and 11 rebounds. James Holmes chipped in 17 points on seven of nine (three of five threes) shooting.

“I was really pleased with our play the second half,†said USF head coach Robert McCullum. “In the first half we came out and our game plan was to throw the basketball inside. We clearly had a size and height advantage. The game was really just an up and down game, a transition game in the first half, so we really didn’t have to call that many plays. We had the first five plays scripted to throw the ball inside and I thought the guys’ awareness of that was really good. But I thought we were impatient on the half court and we didn’t get anything in transition. We were just one pass, shot. That reflected in our decision-making and the number of turnovers we had. That was the disappointing thing. We turned it over about as much in the first half (13) as we have in any entire game to this point in the four games we’ve played.

“I thought in the second half that was one of the biggest differences. We did a much better job of taking care of the basketball. We only had four turnovers in the second half. We came out and executed really well in the first five minutes of the second half and I thought that set the tone. It also really helped us defensively as well. Also, this was the best rebounding effort that we’ve had.â€Â

With USF leading 45-35 to start the second half, Leather opened the second half with four points in the first 1:13. Swift added a three-point basket, followed by two more Leather free throws and a Holmes lay-up at 16:59, giving the Bulls the first 11 points of the second half.

The first half had also started the Bulls’ way with a 17-8 lead just six minutes into the half. But Bethune-Cookman managed to get within four points at 19-15 with 11:55 to play before USF gained control.

USF’s 4-0 start is the seventh such start in the program’s history and the third 4-0 start in the past four years. The Bulls’ best-ever start was 7-0 in 2001-02. The Bulls now face a strong road test with a December 1 game at Richmond, followed by a tournament Dec. 3-4 at Fresno State.

http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=1164&s=Basketball

[sdgukhsdgl]

itll be interesting to see how they do against real competition Weds.  

[Guest HowieP1]

USF Continues Preying On Overmatched Foes

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Nov 30, 2004

 

LAKELAND - With Monday's 89-64 victory against Bethune- Cookman, South Florida completed its ``Murderer's Row'' stretch against Stephen F. Austin, Prairie View A&M, Stetson and B-CC.

Call it ``Murderer's Row'' because it was a crime to watch these games.

The Bulls (4-0) even admitted they played more against themselves than their overmatched opponents.

``These first four games, we've built a lot of chemistry going into this [upcoming five- game] road stretch,'' USF senior guard Brian Swift said. ``I think our confidence is really high right now and these four games helped.''

Playing at The Lakeland Center before an announced crowd of 768 - which appeared to be half that large - the Bulls were never challenged by the Wildcats (1-1).

``The team is supposed to win and we go out and win,'' said USF senior Terrence Leather, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Swift had 21 points and junior guard James Holmes 17 as the Bulls hit seven of 15 3- pointers.

Despite taking an inadvertent elbow in the head from Swift in the first half, Holmes hit his first seven shots and is 9-for-13 from 3-point range the last two games.

``This is my role, to find my spots,'' Holmes said. ``They were trapping a lot. I have to make the open shots.''

Senior forward Marlyn Bryant added 12 points, including two highlight-reel dunks in the game's final minute, six rebounds and a career-high six steals.

``Probably his best all- around game he's had,'' USF coach Robert McCullum said.

Center Solomon Jones had eight points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Bulls started 4-0 for only the seventh time in school history.

``Obviously I'm satisfied with our win, more specifically with our play in the second half,'' McCullum said. ``We clearly had a size and height advantage. I thought we were impatient on the half court and I thought that reflected in our decision-making and number of [first-half] turnovers. That was disappointing.

``In the second half, we did a much better job taking care of the basketball.''

* USF freshman guard Montavious Waters, who left the program Wednesday, met with McCullum on Monday, but has not rejoined the team.

``He's struggling with some personal things,'' McCullum said. ``We'll talk again [today]. We'd like for him to remain in the program, but quite honestly, I'm more concerned about him as an 18-year-old than him being in our program.''

McCullum said he expects a decision from Waters by the end of the week.

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGBH6COK52E.html

[Guest BasketBull.]

I'm very happy with this win. The coaching adjustments in the second half of the last few games have been good.

I'm feeling better.

Beat Richmond and I'll be impressed!