The USF Bulls were back home Monday afternoon, taking on Georgia College in the final non-conference game of the season.
The Bulls thoroughly dominated the Bobcats from start to finish, capturing their largest win of the season, 111-50, to remain unbeaten at home. Five players scored in double figures for the Bulls, and for the first time this season, everyone who was healthy saw some playing time.
It was a slow start for the Bulls, who were a bit rusty from the six-day layoff, as they had just a three-point lead with 15:49 to go in the half.
Coach Brian Hodgson talked about the slow start: “Yeah, I’ll say, like, I probably played a part in that because I practiced them pretty hard for the last couple days. We got back from Christmas, and we got after it.”
Izaiyah Nelson had seven of the points for the Bulls early on as they struggled to get into any flow offensively. CJ Brown hit a three-point shot to put the Bulls up 20-14, and then the Bulls’ defense generated a couple of turnovers, and that seemed to be the spark they needed. Joe Pinion would then nail a three-pointer to put USF up by 14, all part of a 10-0 USF run to take control of the game. USF would extend the lead to 46-28 with 3:54 left in the half, ultimately going up 61-31 at the half.
USF was the much quicker team throughout the half, and as a result, Georgia College committed 14 fouls. USF would take advantage by going 17-of-20 from the free-throw line. Josh Omojafo had a career night in the first half, scoring 21 points, including 13-of-15 shooting from the line. He also contributed a wicked blocked shot, had two rebounds, made a significant impact on both ends of the court, and finished with a career-high 23 points.
Omojofo talked about the team coming together to take control of the game after the slow start. “I think overall, we just came together defensively and offensively,” he said. “We just decided to push the pace, and that’s how we got most of our points, and we just kept building on that throughout the game.”
Nelson also had 21 points in the first half for the Bulls. He barely missed a first-half double-double as he finished the half with eight rebounds.
The Bulls’ defense forced 12 turnovers in the half, including 11 steals, and scored 17 points off those turnovers to help the team build that huge halftime lead.
The Bulls would bump the lead to 80-39 with 11:35 to play in the second half, as they began to empty the bench and give some of the young guys playing time. Devin Haid, Isiah Collins, and Caleb Sanders all saw action in the second half as the Bulls continued to dominate, taking a 100-50 lead with just under four minutes to play.
Georgia College would not score another basket as USF brought the intensity on both ends of the court to the very end in the 111-50 win.
Nelson finished the night with another double-double, scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. Brown collected his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bulls will now have 10 days off as they don’t play again until they meet UAB on Sunday, Jan. 4, in their conference opener.
USF played one of the most demanding non-conference schedules in the country, and Coach Hodgson thinks that will help the Bulls as conference play begins.
“You look at what we’ve got coming up. I’m not gonna call anybody out specifically, but other teams in our league that just haven’t seen it. They’re getting ready to play an American conference road game, and they haven’t seen anything like it all year. They just haven’t been tested like that. We played at Alabama, at Oklahoma State, and then Utah State at home.”
Guard Wes Enis should be back for the conference home opener, according to Coach Hodgson. Enis has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but should be ready for UAB.
The Bulls are 8-5 on the season, and remain a perfect 6-0 at home.