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It's Not Pretty, But USF Prevails

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By BRETT McMURPHY

bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

TAMPA - In Stan Heath's eight-year head coaching career, it's doubtful he's had an uglier victory than the University of South Florida's 60-46 win against SMU on Friday.

But as Heath, who picked up career win No. 125, has learned along the way - it's much better than the alternative.

"Last year in the opener, I thought we played ugly and lost," Heath said. "This time we played ugly and we won. I'm much happier with an ugly win.

"Ugly, I guess, is how you want to look at it. We obviously struggled finishing around the basket, missed a lot of layups and free throws and things like that."

The Bulls shot 36 percent from the field, 28 percent from 3-point range, 53 percent from the free-throw line and committed two violations by stepping into the free-throw lane early.

The Bulls (1-0) were still too much for the Mustangs (0-1), thanks to USF senior Jesus Verdejo, who had 18 points, two shy of his career high.

Verdejo was 7-for-16, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range. USF's other starters were 8-for-35 (23 percent).

"Overall, we were pretty good, but we have to be more mentally focused," Verdejo said.

Early in the second half, the Bulls led 39-29 but missed 15 of their next 16 shots as the Mustangs pulled within 43-37. However, Verdejo led a game-clinching 13-5 run with three 3-pointers.

USF sophomore Dominique Jones, who struggled from the field in Monday's exhibition win against the University of Tampa, missed several shots inside and finished 5-for-16. He had 13 points and a game-high six assists.

Alex Rivas Sanchez added eight points and six rebounds. B.J. Ajayi had a career high-tying 11 rebounds before an announced crowd of 3,523 in the Sun Dome.

"People say I played bad, or some people say I played average, it doesn't matter," Jones said. "I'm happy. I've played a lot of good games we've lost. So I'm happy to win."

SMU (0-1) - Otis 0-1 0-2 0, Fall 2-7 0-0 4, Williams 5-15 1-4 13, McCoy 2-9 5-6 10, Harp 1-4 2-2 4, Haynes 0-2 0-0 0, Malone 1-2 2-2 5, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Nyakundi 1-4 2-2 5, Dia 1-3 3-3 5. Totals 13-47 15-21 46.

SOUTH FLORIDA (1-0) - Espinosa 1-4 2-4 4, Ajayi 1-7 2-4 4, Howard 1-8 2-2 4, Jones 5-16 2-5 13, Verdejo 7-16 0-2 18, Belardo 0-0 0-0 0, Leemow 1-2 0-0 3, Rivas Sanchez 4-6 0-0 8, Williams 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 22-61 10-19 60.

Halftime-South Florida 32-23. 3-Point Goals-SMU 5-15 (Williams 2-6, Malone 1-2, Nyakundi 1-2, McCoy 1-3, Haynes 0-1, Harp 0-1), South Florida 6-21 (Verdejo 4-9, Leemow 1-2, Jones 1-5, Espinosa 0-1, Howard 0-4). Fouled Out-Ajayi. Rebounds-SMU 39 (Harp 7), South Florida 43 (Ajayi 11). Assists-SMU 7 (McCoy 3), South Florida 12 (Jones 6). Total Fouls-SMU 17, South Florida 18. Technical-Dia. A-3,523.

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