AAC Tournament Recap: USF 81 – ECU 59
After a tough loss to Tulsa to end the regular season the 1 seed USF Bulls were back in action on Friday afternoon and looked as good as they have all year, defeating ECU in a wire-wire team effort 81-59.
USF got 17 a piece from Kobe Knox and Selton Miguel, but it was a team effort that got the Job done as the Bulls had 7 players score 6+ and were able to get a full 40 minutes from everybody. After the game Usf Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim gave credit to God, ECU, and his players mentioning how he was really happy with his team’s effort on both sides of the ball.
“Hats off to a very good East Carolina team. Playing 2 games in less than 24 hours is not an easy thing to do. I thought they played hard and competed, but I’m really proud to have 18 assists and 9 turnovers, I’ll take that all day. To have less than 10 turnovers in a game you will give yourself an opportunity to win. I thought we did a great job of sharing the ball and I thought we had a great connection defensively,” Coach Abdur-Rahim said after the game.
This game started with Rj Felton and Kobe Knox trading triples and the battle unfolded from there. Felton scored 6 out of the first 7 for ECU, and Kobe Knox and Chris Youngblood combined for 11 early points and USF jumped out to an 11-7 lead with 16:15 to play.
The pirates offense got stuck in a bit of a lull as they failed to break double digits in the scoring column until 10 minutes into the first half and USF was capitalizing, shooting 50% from the field and 66% from 3 early and following a Kasean Pryor triple with 11:41 to play the Bulls jumped out to a 20-9 lead.
USF was flourishing in all facets of the game early as through the first 10 minutes they led in rebounds, assists, and steals and they were rolling with momentum.
USF was maintaining a double-digit lead in the final 10 minutes of the first half, and they were getting a balanced scoring attack, as Knox had 6 early but Youngblood and Miguel were right behind him with 5, and ECU was having trouble containing their offense.
Over the final few minutes of the half ECU went on a 10-2 run to make things a bit out of control, Selton Miguel scored in transition off of a turnover and with 1:43 USF had a 42-25 lead and we’re rolling with momentum.
ECU was able to grab a bit of momentum before the end of the half as Brandon Johnson who struggled hit a buzzer beating triple and it made the score 44-30 USF going into the break.
USF regained momentum to start the second half as they started with a 7-2 run to jolt the lead to 51-32 with 16:40 to play in the game.
It was all Bulls in the second half as they maintained near a 20-point lead for a majority of the second half and they were doing it with a team effort. USF only had 2 players in double figures but had 7 players with 6+ with 11:08 to play in the game, and were leading 57-39, getting buckets from all over the court.
The Bulls were rolling with momentum following that, as they went on a 10-4 run behind 2 triples from Kobe Knox and jolted their lead to 68-43 with 8:22 to play in the game.
Kasean Pryor and Selton Miguel hit back-to-back triples a few minutes later and the lead was up to 30 and with 6:06 to play, 76-46 USF. After the game, Kobe knox explained how the team effort and confidence in each helped them out tonight.
“Putting together a full 40 minutes of offense and defense. Trusting each other, the 18 assists, it shows the confidence we have in each other,” Knox said.
The bulls closed the door without any drama as they entered their reserves into the game with a few minutes remaining and they were able to hold the large lead, eventually winning 81-59. After the game, Kobe Knox gave credit to the USF fans who traveled across the country for a boost in this one.
“The way that they traveled for us, come to Texas where a lot of these teams we play against, they’re closer so they have more fans that come. The love and support they’ve been showing us the whole season, it means a lot,” Knox said after the game.
USF will be back in action tomorrow in the semifinals at 3 pm EST on ESPN 2 against the winner of UAB Vs Wichita state.