South Florida 78, Southern Methodist 71

[January 29, 2014]  TAMPA, Fla. — South Florida 78, Southern Methodist 71: Victor Rudd scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting to lead the host Bulls to a win over the Mustangs in AAC play.

Chris Perry tied a career-high with 18 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds for South Florida (11-10, 2-6), which snapped a four-game losing streak and won at home for the first time since Dec. 19. Corey Allen Jr. added 18 points and dished out a game-high five assists for the Bulls, who shot 53.1 percent and outrebounded SMU 29-24.

Nic Moore's 23 points led the offense for the Mustangs (16-5, 5-3), who saw their five-game winning streak end. Markus Kennedy contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and Ben Moore also registered 11 points for SMU, which committed 16 turnovers after averaging 13.5 entering play.

South Florida shot 50 percent in the opening 20, using a 14-4 run — led by five points from Perry — to establish a 24-20 lead late in the half. Allen's jumper with 35 seconds remaining before intermission gave the Bulls a 30-26 lead before a 3-pointer from Keith Frazier pulled SMU to within 30-29 at the break.
 

After Rudd opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give South Florida a four-point edge, it would remain a one-possession game until Rudd struck again, converting a layup with just under 4 1/2 minutes remaining to give the Bulls a 61-57 advantage. Allen drained a 3-pointer with 2:37 to go to extend the lead to seven and the Mustangs couldn't find an answer from there as the Bulls secured the win by knocking down their final 15 attempts from the free throw line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: South Florida evened up the all-time series against SMU at 3-3, avenging a 71-54 loss in Dallas Jan. 15. ... The Mustangs entered play allowing opponents just 36.2 percent shooting from the field. ... Rudd surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career at South Florida, becoming the 18th player in program history to achieve the feat.

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