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Bulls Work Their Way Back To .500

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 25, 2007

Updated: 11/25/2007 12:14 am

TAMPA - Coach Stan Heath knows the University of South Florida won't be mistaken for a collegiate hotbed anytime soon, but at least he can finally call the Sun Dome home.

He can thank Jesus Verdejo for leading the way.

Verdejo led five Bulls in double figures, tying a career high with 20 points, and USF led nearly throughout before finally putting away pesky East Carolina, 81-67 before a mostly subdued 2,992 at the Sun Dome on Saturday night.

"It's not Indiana or Kentucky nuts yet, but we'll get there," Heath said after posting his first home victory, then added jokingly, "It's a football Saturday and the school had a big win. Maybe the fans are still out getting a soda."

On a night when the Bulls didn't shoot particularly well from the field (45 percent) and had difficulty finally subduing an ECU team that lost at home to lightweights Richmond and Liberty this season, USF relied on a pair of unexpected contributions to win its third straight after starting the season 0-3. Verdejo, who finished seven of 11 from the field, hit a pair of key 3-pointers from the same corner to end the first half and help USF take a 39-36 lead. A tight zone defense in the second half that Heath said he will employ much more as the season progresses did the rest.

"I thought 'Zeus' played a good game. He made some big shots for us, including the back-to-back ones he hit late. It gave us some much-needed momentum," Heath said. "No question, I wish I'd gone to the zone defense in the first couple of games. The zone fits our team. I'm a man-to-man guy, so I had to bite my pride a bit."

Orane Chin scored a season-high 17 for USF, while Kentrell Gransberry finished with 15 on 6-for-8 shooting. Chris Howard had 12 for the Bulls, while Dominique Jones added 11.

The victory was the Bulls' fourth straight over ECU the past four seasons.

USF took its biggest lead of the first half at 28-14 with 8:38 remaining before the Pirates (2-3) made their best run of the game. With guard Sam Hinnant, who finished with a game-high 25 points, hitting all six of his 3-pointers and the Bulls unable to get the ball inside to the imposing 6-foot-9, 270-pound Gransberry, East Carolina steadily cut into its deficit. A Gabe Blair layup cut USF's lead to 33-31, and Hinnant's sixth 3-pointer of the half with 54 seconds remaining gave ECU its first lead since the first minutes. That's when Verdejo made the two biggest shots of the game.

On consecutive possessions, Verdejo was alone in the right corner, and both times his 3-pointers fell. The Arizona transfer's second shot, with 3 seconds remaining, restored USF's three-point lead.

"Coming from Arizona, this is the offense we had, so I feel very comfortable," Verdejo said. "If you're going to be a great shooter, you've got to have your hands ready and your feet set. And when you get the ball, you've got to hit them."

For ECU coach Mack McCarthy, he said that though the two baskets to end the half hurt the Pirates, they by no means settled the issue. The Bulls' second-half zone defense and athleticism did.

One only had to look at Hinnant's second-half production for proof. After scoring 19 points without missing a shot during the first 20 minutes, the guard struggled against the relentless zone, going 2-for-7 from the field, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc, in the second half.

"After we came back from 14 down, we didn't feel bad about ourselves at halftime," McCarthy said. "They have a lot of weapons and can spread you around the floor."

USF began pounding the ball inside and driving to the hole throughout the second half. And, with the Pirates struggling to make shots - they shot 11-for-28 (39 percent) in the second half after hitting 54 percent in the first half - the Bulls steadily rebuilt their comfortable lead. Two more Verdejo 3-pointers pushed the Bulls' lead to 60-50 with 9:19 to go, and with USF hitting 17 of 25 free throws in the second half, the lead dipped below double digits only once the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: USF's Jesus Verdejo tied a career-high with 20 points.

STAT OF THE GAME: USF's zone defense helped hold East Carolina to just 39 percent shooting in the second half.

TURNING POINT: Two Verdejo 3-pointers from the right corner gave USF a 39-36 halftime lead. The Bulls never trailed the rest of the way.

UP NEXT: USF travels to Florida International on Monday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

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