USF-UCF: Dominique Jones 27 Points Puts Bulls on Right Side of I-4 Rival

Dominique Jones put on a clinic on his way to 27 points, both a game high and season high for Jones. USF needed this type of performance to counter balance the loss of Augustus Gilchrist and his 18 points and nine rebounds a game.

Gilchrist’s replacement Jarrid Famous had 11 points and eight rebounds, but Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, one of the Bulls’ backup big men, struggled in his second game with increased minutes having only two points.

Chris Howard had 14 points and four assists and Mike Mercer added 12 points as the other Bulls starters in double figures. USF shot 38 percent from the field, and only 31 percent from behind the arc. These shooting woes helped UCF claw it’s way back into the game in the second half.

The Golden Knights were down 34-27 at halftime but outscored USF 38-35 in the second half. UCF shot 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from three, most of which came in the late second half.

The Golden Knights were led by Isaac Sosa’s 14 points and Marcus Jordan chipped in 11 as the only other player in double figures for UCF. UCF never led in this game, but did overcome a 13-point lead held by USF in the first half.

USF (7-2) will now head west for a double header with the University of San Francisco (3-7) and the University of San Diego (5-6) over the course of the upcoming weekend. On Saturday the two USF’s will square off at 5:00 PM. The following day The Bulls will have another 5:00 PM game against the Toreros of USD.

Winning these last two non-conference game for the Bulls is extremely important, considering they open Big East play with Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and West Virginia. After this weekend, USF wont be favored in a game until they play Rutgers on Jan. 16.