Leesburg Paper with story and good quotes on game

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Bulls lose by 1 in conference home opener

01/08/05

ADAM MINICHINO

Staff Writer

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TAMPA — Sometimes statistics don’t accurately reflect the impact pressure defense can have on a basketball game.

The numbers don’t chart which team dictates tempo or how many times the speed of a game can make players do things they ordinarily don’t.

For 20 minutes Saturday, the South Florida Bulls controlled their egos, played as a team and gave themselves a handful of chances to defeat UAB in their Conference USA home opener. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they committed one too many mistakes in the first half to erase a second half of hard work and execution.

Still, Marques Lewis had to hit 1 of 2 free throws with 3 seconds remaining to lift UAB to a 62-61 win against South Florida before a crowd of 3,108 at the Sun Dome.

“I think our players did an outstanding job of giving themselves a chance to win after playing poorly and being down by double digits in the first half,” USF coach Robert McCullum said.

“To defend UAB the way we did is simply outstanding.”

USF’s defense nearly helped erase a first half that saw the Bulls commit 12 turnovers. The Bulls (8-5, 1-1) held UAB (12-3, 2-0) to 27.3 percent shooting (6 of 22) in the second half to give themselves three chances in the final minute to pull off the upset.

After Donell Taylor hit 1 of 2 free throws to give UAB a 61-60 lead with 49.1 seconds left, USF couldn’t get a shot attempt off on the ensuing possession and was forced to call timeout with 15.9 seconds. With the shot clock at 4, USF senior forward Terrence Leather missed a shot from the top of the key, but freshman Collin Dennis rebounded the miss and was fouled with 10.5 seconds remaining.

Dennis hit 9 of 10 free throws, including 6 of 6 in the final 1 minute, 37 seconds, Wednesday to help USF beat East Carolina 72-71 in the conference opener. But Dennis (seven points) hit 1 of 2 free throws (2 of 6 for the game) to set up a wild finish.

McCullum said USF junior center Solomon Jones then got caught too flat on his man, Lewis, and was out of position to defend a long entry pass to the low block and was forced to foul him.

Lewis missed the first attempt, and, following a USF timeout, hit the second to account for the final margin. USF had one final chance, but Leather’s off-balance shot was short.

Leather (team-high 16 points, 14 rebounds) said the Bulls’ effort in the first half helped do them in.

“Turnovers in the first half are killing us,” Leather said. “We know UAB is an all-over-the-court team, and Coach told us we have to be strong with the ball, make strong plays and make good decisions in the first half, and we didn’t do that as a team in the first half.”

Eleven of the Bulls’ 12 first-half turnovers were unforced. The mistakes ranged from stepping out of bounds after receiving a pass to throwing a cross-court pass out of bounds in the half-court set.

USF senior point guard Brian Swift (16 points, five rebounds, four assists) said the Blazers’ mixture of man-to-man and pressure defenses contributed to the Bulls’ lack of execution in the half-court set.

"Their defense is great. They are up and down and in your face, and they force you to do things you don’t want to do, and that plays right into their hands,” Swift said. “Sometimes we get sped up and we want to make so many plays, but the result is a turnover or a deflection.”

The Blazers came into the game forcing 19.5 turnovers per game. They scored 19 points off USF’s turnovers in the first half to built a 42-31 halftime lead.

“They get you playing at a pace you’re not comfortable at,” McCullum said. “They dictated tempo in the first half, and I told our guys at halftime we can’t let our egos get in the way. That is not us. We’re not going to beat UAB in a 94-foot game. But five-on-five is where we hang our hats.”

McCullum said there is a fine line to make sure his players understand that message. They heeded his words for most of the second half, but there still were times players took shots that didn’t fit their roles.

"You have to get that point across without taking their confidence,” McCullum said.

“But we did that in the second half, so we made our point. Today wasn’t the first time that they heard that, and I am sure it won’t be the last. Sometimes it is just a tendency of your competitiveness to get into a one-on-one duel with the guy. We have to play smart and realize we have to do the things we can do.”

One of the things the Bulls can do is shoot better from the free-throw line. Swift said the was one of the most disappointing factors in the loss. USF, which came in shooting 71.6 percent, was 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) Saturday.

“It has been one of our strengths all season,” Swift said. “To come in a big game like this at home and shoot 50 percent from the free-throw line, it is kind of embarrassing, especially as good a free-throw shooting team as we are. “If we made some of those (free throws down the stretch) I think we’re sitting up here (in the postgame interview room) smiling.”

Ronell Taylor had a game-high 17 points for UAB.

Jones, a former Mount Dora High School standout, finished with four points and three rebounds. Marlyn Bryant, a former Leesburg High School standout, had seven points and four rebounds.

USF plays Marquette on Saturday.

bold emphasis added by Bulliever

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[bigbull]

I totally agree with everything, when this team plays as a TEAM I don't think there is a team we cannot beat....This group of kids is fun to watch and has a lot of talent as a team