National Basketball Association
Central Florida 75, South Florida 74
When: 1:30 PM ET, Saturday, February 15, 2014
Where: USF Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida
Officials:
# James Breeding, # Tim Nestor, # Matt Potter
Attendance:
5294
By SportsDirect Inc.
Central Florida 75, South Florida 74: Isaiah Sykes capped a 27-point performance with a driving layup before time expired as the visiting Knights snapped a nine-game losing streak in dramatic fashion.
Tristan Spurlock collected 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals for Central Florida (10-13, 2-10 AAC), which avenged a one-point overtime loss to the Bulls at home earlier this month. Staphon Blair chipped in 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting and Justin McBride came off the bench to contribute 13 points.
Martino Brock tied a career high with 21 points while Victor Rudd matched him to lead South Florida (12-14, 3-10). No other player reached double figures for the Bulls, who dropped their third straight.
Sykes snapped a 71-71 tie with a basket with 1:25 left, but Brock converted a three-point play on the other end to put South Florida up by a point. After an exchange of empty possessions, Sykes drove into the lane and scooped in a runner off the glass with 1.8 seconds left before Brock's long 3-point try at the buzzer hit the back of the iron.
South Florida led by as many as eight in the first half before settling for a 38-34 lead at the break, only to fall behind 41-40 when Spurlock had a steal and raced the other way for a three-point play. There were multiple lead changes and ties thereafter, the last coming when Rudd hit two free throws to tie it at 71 with 1:43 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Blair had 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half and finished with four of Central Florida's nine blocked shots. ... The Knights entered with an AAC-worst 39.7 percent mark from the field in conference play but finished at 50.9 percent on Saturday. ... South Florida still leads the series 20-6.
Top Game Performances
Central Florida |
|
South Florida |
Isaiah Sykes 27 |
Scoring |
Martino Brock 21 |
Isaiah Sykes 5 |
Assists |
Corey Allen Jr. 4 |
Tristan Spurlock 8 |
Rebounds |
Victor Rudd 9 |
Tristan Spurlock 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Victor Rudd 7 |
Tristan Spurlock 4 |
Steals |
Martino Brock 2 |
Staphon Blair 4 |
Blocks |
Corey Allen Jr. 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Central Florida
|
75 |
50.9 |
3-9 |
14-20 |
16 |
26 |
9 |
6 |
9 |
South Florida
|
74 |
49.1 |
6-17 |
16-20 |
14 |
27 |
4 |
5 |
11 |