On their fifth try, the South Florida Bulls earned their first victory of the season with a 63-61 victory over the Albany Great Danes before 2,712 at the Sun Dome. It certainly was not easy.
The first half was played fairly evenly with Albany holding a brief seven-point lead. The Bulls came back to tie the score at halftime, 33-33.
The Great Danes used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to take a 53-45 lead with 10:16 remaining. USF responded with a 7-0 run of their own to pull within 53-52.
Chris Perry’s rebound dunk with 9 seconds remaining put the Bulls ahead, 62-61. Jahmal McMurray made one of two free throws with two seconds left to cap the scoring.
Angel Nunez led the Bulls with 16 points with Jaleel Cousins added 13 points and 12 rebounds. USF shot 44 percent, making 26 of their 59 shots. They were a meager 1 for 11 on three-point attempts.
Evan Singletary led Albany with 14 points followed by Greig Stire with 12 and Peter Hooley with 11. The Great Danes shot 37 percent from the field, but only three of 20 from three-point range.
The Bulls are now 1-4 on the season and have a monumental task ahead of them. On Friday they leave the Sun Dome for the first time and head to Coral Gables to face the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Game time is 5:00 pm.
