The South Florida Bulls won their first ever NCAA Tournament game as they beat the California Golden Bears 65-54 in Dayton, Ohio. Victor Rudd led four Bulls in double figures with 15 points, while Anthony Collins chipped in 12, Augustus Gilchrist had 11 poitns, and Jawanza Poland had 10 points off the bench for USF.
The Bulls dominated from the opening tip and raced out to an 18-5 lead within the first eight minutes. Cal had no answer for Anthony Collins early, who sliced the Golden Bears defense for a couple easy baskets. If the lane was clogged, Collins was able to find Gilchrist or Rudd for an open look.
On the other end, Cal couldn't find an open basket. The Bulls suffocating defense held the Golden Bears to only 13 points in the first half, and held them scoreless in the last 8:55 of the first half. The smaller Cal squad could not find any space inside the lane, and when it appeared they had an open look from the perimeter, USF's wings were able to close out quickly to disrupt the shot.
The real question was seeing how much USF was going to win by. The Bulls were up by 23 at the half and stretched the lead to 30 midway through the 2nd. Heath then chose to rest his starters and Cal was able to make a late run to make the score look respectable. Harper Kamp led all scorers with 19 points, while Jorge Gutierrez added 11 points in his final game for the Golden Bears.
USF will next take on the Temple Owls in the Second Round on Friday. Game is scheduled for 9:50 PM and will be held in Nashville, TN.
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