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Bulls Head Into Break On High

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By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 23, 2007

TAMPA - With Christmas only three days away, the University of South Florida men's basketball team actually found a Saint in a more giving mood than St. Nick.

St. Francis (N.Y.) College proved to be the perfect guest Saturday night as the Bulls rolled to an 86-66 victory at the Sun Dome.

"I was afraid we might look ahead to Christmas," USF coach Stan Heath said.

There was no such problem as USF put four Bulls in double figures, registering its second-largest margin of victory under Heath. The Bulls (8-4) built a 34-point cushion midway through the second half against the overmatched Terriers before Heath emptied his bench.

"I'm always more concerned what we're doing, compared to what the other team is doing," Heath said. "My thing today was we needed to be really aggressive. You want to play the right way. If we get a lead, find some minutes for some guys and see what they can do in game situations."

Sophomore forward Amu Saaka, making only his third career start, scored a career-high 13 points. "He was the key to the game," Heath said.
Sophomore point guard Chris Howard had 17 points, one off his career high, and five assists.

"I was kind of nervous in warm-ups because I was making every shot," said Howard, who missed only one of eight attempts when it counted. "When you do that, sometimes you come out bad in the game. I was kind of nervous about that."

Freshman Dominique Jones had 14 points and five assists. Freshman guard Aaron Holmes, playing in only his second game since becoming eligible, added 13 points.

Senior center Kentrell Gransberry had 14 rebounds and a career-high five assists as 10 of USF's 12 players scored at least one point.

"On any given night you can be beat. We learned that in our first three games," Howard said. "So we try to keep level-headed and play as hard as we would as if we were playing UConn, Duke or North Carolina."

The Bulls, whose seven-game winning streak was snapped at Wake Forest on Wednesday, led the Terriers only 29-22 with 9:05 remaining in the first half.

However, the Terriers (3-9) made only one field goal the rest of the half as USF took a 48-28 halftime lead.

"It's a thought of mine - you play better when you play aggressive," Saaka said. "When you're timid, you tend to make more mistakes. Playing aggressive helps everybody play better."

USF closes its nonconference schedule with Winston-Salem State (4-6) on Saturday before Big East play begins Jan. 2 against Rutgers.

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Sophomore PG Chris Howard went 7-for-8 from the field for 17 points and added five assists.

STAT OF THE GAME: USF sophomore Solomon Bozeman hit only his second 3-pointer in his last 22 attempts after starting the season 13 of 19 from 3-point range.

TURNING POINT: Back in June when St. Francis replaced Campbell on USF's schedule.

UP NEXT: USF hosts Winston-Salem State on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Bulls Report, for more on USF's win.

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