Selton Miguel scored a career-high 25 points off the bench as South Florida stretched its winning streak to 11 games, holding off No. 24 Florida Atlantic 90-86 on Sunday in Tampa to stay atop the American Athletic Conference.
Chris Youngblood added 23 for the Bulls (19-5, 12-1), who built a 25-point lead with 8:38 left in the game and barely held off the Owls. FAU scored 41 points in the final 8:24, drawing within 87-86 when Johnell Davis swished a stepback 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds remaining.
But Youngblood canned both ends of a one-and-one with 20.6 seconds left, then added a foul shot with 4.8 ticks on the clock after an FAU miss to wrap up the outcome.
Vladislav Goldin led four players in double figures for the Owls (20-6, 10-3) with 23 points, while Davis finished with 20 to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Alijah Martin scored 17 points and Nick Boyd added 16.
Ultimately, South Florida’s ability to take care of the ball and knock down just enough pressure free throws decided the game. It was 21-of-28 at the line in a marathon second half and committed just eight turnovers on the day.
Playing before the first sellout crowd at the Yuengling Center in 23 years, South Florida controlled the first half as Youngblood and Miguel took turns scoring in unstoppable clusters.
Youngblood came out of the gate scorching, scoring 13 points in the first 8:04 as the Bulls established an 18-9 lead. He made three consecutive 3-pointers in the spurt, adding a layup and a pair of free throws along the way.
Then Miguel activated with a driving layup, followed by a 14-point burst in less than three minutes that saw him can four straight 3-pointers. That increased the USF lead to 17 points before Goldin made two foul shots after a flagrant foul, cutting the advantage to 46-31 at the half.
The Owls trailed 70-45 when Davis’ three-point play launched a 15-0 run over a span of just 1:19 to make it a new game.
–Field Level Media