Shorthanded USF turned in one of its best team efforts of the season in a 73-60 win at Tulane on Wednesday night.
All seven Bulls that played scored while USF brought its brand of lockdown defense, limiting Tulane to 31.5 percent from the field (23-for-73). USF (5-17, 2-7) posted consecutive road wins for the first time since the 2013-14 season after handing Houston a 71-62 loss last Saturday.
“I can’t say enough about these guys that just keep fighting and battling,” head coach Orlando Antigua said. “They’re fighting for one another and as a coach and as a staff, we’re really excited to see that. We just have to keep building off of that.”
American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Jahmal McMurray added another chapter to his storybook season with a game-high 23 points. The freshman guard from Topeka, Kan., went 9-for-18 from the field on another sharp shooting night for USF, which made 48.1 percent of its attempts (25-for-52).
With his NBA All-Star older brother, DeMarcus, and his mom in attendance, Jaleel Cousins scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and tied his career high with five blocks. Ruben Guerrero matched Cousins with a career-high five blocks as USF swatted away 11 shots, the 10th-best total in program history.
USF committed just seven fouls and kept up the pressure with Tulane making seven of 30 3-point attempts. No opponent has shot better than 23 percent from long range in each of USF’s past four games.
“We’ve done a better job of not fouling them and blocking some shots and getting some charges and getting some deflections with our activity, with our hands in the passing lane,” Antigua said. “That’s resulting in us being able to get some wins here the last couple games.”
Angel Nunez extended his double-digit scoring streak to four games with 16 points and set a new season high with 10 rebounds to help USF win the battle of the boards by a 44-34 margin. Nunez made all six of his free throw attempts as USF started 14-for-14 from the charity stripe and finished 21-for-25.
“I challenged our guys, we wanted to outrebound them by plus-10. We were right at the number,” Antigua said. “It was a great all-around effort.”
Coming off a gutsy win at Houston, USF’s continued to have the hot hand on the way to a 36-28 halftime lead. The Bulls shot 51.7 percent from the field (15-for-29) and scored 24 points in the paint (36 total).
Cousins and Nunez led the attack inside with 10 points apiece while McMurray was on the verge of his 14th straight double-digit game with eight points.
McMurray and Nunez each scored four points to help USF take control during a 10-0 run midway through the first half. Cousins capped the run off with a thunderous dunk that spotted the Bulls a 20-14 lead.
Tulane tied the game at 24-24 before the Bulls put together another 10-0 run that ended with a one-handed dunk by Cousins.
The Green Wave went scoreless for nearly four minutes during the Bulls’ run and shot just 32.4 percent (12-for-37) in the opening half. Guerrero stepped up on defense with three of USF’s six blocks.
McMurray got into double figures with a jumper that pumped USF’s lead up to 42-31 less than two minutes into the second half. Tulane made a late charge, cutting its deficit to 50-45 with 10:28 to go, but USF pulled away with its rising freshman leading the way.
McMurray knocked down consecutive 3-pointers during a 12-0 run and his second from long range gave the Bulls a 62-45 lead with 5:36 remaining. McMurray scored a career-high 30 points at Houston and has averaged 19.8 points in the past five games.
USF shoots for its third straight conference win back at the Sun Dome 2 p.m. Sunday against Temple. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network and fans can reserve their seats at USFBullsTix.com.