The South Florida Bulls trailed West Virginia by just five points at halftime, but in the second half the Bulls just couldn't do enough to overtake the Mountaineers and went down 50-44. The Bulls surged late in the game as Darryl Bryant scored 12 points in the second half, finishing the game with 16 points, but West Virginia was able to sink it's free throws and thwart the Bulls comeback.
With the loss, the Bulls enter the Big East tournament with a little bit of uncertainty about their spot in the NCAA tournament. While most feel the Bulls sealed their spot with a victory over Louisville, the Bulls may still need to make some noise in the conference tournament to make their position in the post-season a slam dunk.
Kevin Jones leads all scorers with 12 points as the West Virginia Mountaineers hold a 24-19 halftime lead on the USF Bulls this afternoon at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Aaron Brown and Truck Bryant each have 4 points for the Mountaineers while Deniz Kilici has 7 rebounds for WVU. For USF, Anthony Collins leads the Bulls with 7 points while seniors Ron Anderson Jr. and Augustus Gilchrist each have 4 points.
Jones has been the difference in the contest so far, as his size and speed have made it difficult to guard him in the half court offense. Jones has scored a majority of his points on flares to the outside when the Bulls weren't able to close out in time.
Both teams are in some foul trouble as multiple players on both teams have two fouls. For the Mountaineers, Jones, Kilici, and Dominique Rutledge are saddled with two fouls while Hugh Robertson and Gilchrist have two fouls for the Bulls.
