The Bulls were back home Tuesday night before a raucous crowd at the Yuengling Center with a share of first place on the line as the Charlotte 49ers were in town.
These two teams last met in 2017 in Tampa, where the Bulls won 78-76. USF has had the better of the matchups in the last four games, with the Bulls winning three of the previous four.
The Bulls would trail all game until 29 seconds to go when Brandon Stroud scored in the paint to put the Bulls up 70-69, a lead that would hold up the rest of the way as USF maintains first place in the AAC with a hard-fought 72-69 win over Charlotte.
The Bulls Started Slow
It did not start well for the Bulls as the Charlotte 49ers got out to the early lead, led by the three-point shooting of junior forward Igor Milicic, hitting on a couple of threes to give the 49ers an early 9-2 lead.
As the half went on, the 49ers cooled off, but the Bulls couldn’t take advantage as they shot just 38 percent from the floor in the first half and were just 4/11 from three-point range.
Charlotte did get in some early foul trouble, but the Bulls couldn’t take advantage.
Charlotte would build a 14-point lead with just under four minutes to play in the first half, led by Igor Milicic, the Croatian sensation, and Nic Graves, who each had 10 points for the 49ers.
The Bulls cut the Charlotte lead to 42-37 with 56 seconds to go in the half, but the 49ers held off the USF rally to get the lead back to 47-37 at the half.
Selton Miguel led the Bulls with 14 points in the first half.
The Bulls got in quick foul trouble in the second, picking up four quick fouls before the 15:00 minute mark, and the 49ers continued to pull away, building a 63-48 lead with 11:24 to go in the game.
The Bulls Would Come Back From A 15 point Deficit
Then, the Bulls started to play how we have seen them play all season.
USF slowly climbed back into the game as Chris Youngblood, Kobe Knox, and Selton Miguel scored to cut the Charlotte lead to 68-64 with 4:02 remaining.
As well as Charlotte played in the first half, they had no answers for the Bulls once USF found their game imploding down the stretch.
It was tenacious defense, and the Bulls finally got the shots to fall, which would be the difference in this game.
Chris Youngblood cut it to two at 68-66.
A Jayden Reid steal at the 1:10 mark, and a driving layup by Brandon Stroud cut the Charlotte lead to 69-68.
USF would catch a break when Charlotte guard Lu’cye Patterson fouled out, giving USF two free throws. Brandon Stroud missed both free throws to keep it a 69-68 game.
Just 20 seconds later, Reid would steal the ball, and Stroud would score, giving the Bulls their first lead at 70-69.
Charlotte would get the ball back, and Igor Milicic, who had been so good from three-point range all night, shot an airball from three-point range, giving the ball back to the Bulls.
Two Selton Miguel free throws would seal the deal for USF and make the final 72-69.
Selton Miguel led USF with 22 points, with Kobe Knox and Chris Youngblood adding 13 a piece.
The Road Ahead
The Bulls will be in Charlotte on March 2nd, and I feel these teams will see one another again in the AAC tournament.
USF will now head to Houston this weekend for a matchup with the Rice Owls, a team USF beat back in January 81-73, before home games against Tulsa and FAU next week.
The Bulls are now 16-5 and 9-1 in conference play and tied with FAU for first place in the AAC.