Bulls defeat Cincinnati, stay in postseason picture

That four-game Big East winning streak that delivered the USF men's basketball team new-found attention recently came packaged with certain downfalls.

There were more interviews to do. More friends calling and texting, saying they saw you on SportsCenter. More of those off-the-court distractions coaches always talk about.

USF coach Stan Heath saw some of those elements creep onto his team after the Bulls made headlines by upsetting No. 7 Georgetown two weeks ago, then losing back-to-back games.

In USF's 65-57 victory over Cincinnati on Tuesday, Heath liked the way the Bulls went back to the basics to keep talk alive of a possible NCAA Tournament berth.

"I felt our team stopped talking,'' Heath said. "I thought they were more humble and realize that if we're going to win, it's going to be a hungry-and-humble approach. I thought that we got back to that instead of feeling like we have arrived, because we haven't.''

The Bulls did take a step back in that direction Tuesday after back-to-back losses on the road to Notre Dame and Marquette.

USF led the Bearcats at halftime by just a point, 24-23, but opened the second half on a 21-6 run to put Cincinnati (15-10, 6-7) a safe distance in the rearview mirror.

In the first two minutes of the second half, a basket by Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and 3-pointer from Augustus Gilchrist, playing his first home game since early December, launched the Bulls to a 29-23 lead.

"[That] was a big momentum swing for us,'' Heath said.

And Dominique Jones finished what his teammates started.

In his best game since the victory at Georgetown, Jones scored a game-high 26 points and rediscovered his shooting touch, making seven of 12 shots from the field and 10-of-12 free throws.

Jones scored 19 of his points in the second half, sending a season-high crowd of 6,607 at the Sun Dome home still optimistic USF can pull off its first trip to March Madness in 18 years.

Jones gained another fan in the process.

"He is the best player in the country that the country really doesn't know about,'' Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "When you score 26 points on 12 shots, that's impressive.''

Jones, after making just nine of 38 shots in the previous two games, made sure the Bulls didn't miss starter Jarrid Famous, who sat out after suffering a sprained knee in practice Monday.

With Famous out and Jones back to form, role players such as Mike Mercer and Anthony Crater (nine points, two assists) provided ample support for a team that had lost its momentum.

"We just came off three road games in a row,'' Heath said. "I did think we were a little leg-weary. I felt the crowd was huge for us. It gave us that extra jolt of energy.''

Afterward, Heath urged fans to return with a friend for Saturday's game against St. John's, well aware of how important every game is the rest of the way.

USF (16-9, 6-7) has five regular-season games remaining, three at home. With March Madness just around the corner, the Bulls are still in the conversation.

"It was real important [to win this game],'' said Mike Mercer, who scored 12 points. "When you're at home, you definitely want to get those wins. We came out there with that mindset, like we had to win and our backs were against the wall.''