Bulls pull off miracle rally for win over Providence

Trailing by nine points with less than 40 seconds remaining and by five with 11 seconds left in regulation Saturday night, it seemed like the same old story for the University of South Florida men's basketball team.

The Bulls had received another impressive performance from Dominique Jones, yet they seemed on the verge of losing another Big East road game. But, thanks to clutch shooting and missed free throws from Providence, USF made a remarkable comeback and defeated the Friars 109-105 in overtime at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

"This was a gutty, gutty performance by our basketball team," USF coach Stan Heath said. "These guys never gave up. They kept fighting."

USF snapped an 11-game losing streak in conference road games and won on the road against a Big East team for just the third time in 38 attempts. It was USF's first road win in the Big East since defeating DePaul 80-58 on Jan. 10, 2009.

Jones finished with a career-high 46 points by making 15 of 23 field goals and 14 of 18 free throws. He fell two points shy of the Big East single-game scoring record, set by Providence's Eric Murdock in 1991 against Pittsburgh. Jones also tied his career best with 10 rebounds and added eight assists. In the past six games, Jones is averaging 28.5 points.

"(Jones) just made play after play," Heath said. "What a tremendous day for him."

Jones' 46-point effort topped Charlie Bradley's school-record 42, set against FSU in 1982.

All five USF starters scored in double figures. Mike Mercer tied his career high with 19 points, Jarrid Famous had a career-high 17 points, and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and Chris Howard added 12 apiece. Jamine Peterson (26 points), Marshon Brooks (25) and Sharaud Curry (24) paced the Friars.

With 10.8 seconds left in regulation, Jones scored to cut the Bulls' deficit to 95-92. Jones then tipped an inbounds pass intended for Curry, and Ryan Kardok made the steal. With 0.3 seconds left, Fitzpatrick made a 3-pointer from the left wing, only his second 3 of the season.

On the first possession of OT, Jones made a 3 from the left wing, giving USF its first lead since it was ahead 16-15 six minutes into the game. USF led for the rest of overtime, although it wasn't easy. Providence had a chance to tie the game with 15.5 seconds remaining, but Curry shot an airball on a 3-point attempt from the left wing.

"Our road history hasn't been good," Heath said. "This came at a very important time. ... We played with a lot of heart."