USF Men’s Basketball Stunned by Utah State 76-74 on Last Second Putback in OT

Well, that sucked.

A last second putback by Justin Bean lifted Utah State over the USF men’s basketball team 76-74 in overtime on Wednesday at the Battleground 2K19 in Houston.

Both the Aggies (11-2) and Bulls (6-5) struggled from the field to begin the holiday showcase at the Toyota Center but got things going in the tail end of the first half. Utah State held a six point lead with less than a minute to go in the frame before back-to-back layups by Rashun Williams and Laquincy Rideau cut it down to 31-29 entering the half.

The two squads traded blows well into the second half before USU found themselves with a 58-51 lead with 6:36 remaining in the contest. However, the Bulls rallied back and pulled ahead of the Aggies after Antun Maricevic sunk four straight free throws to give themselves a two-point lead.

A pair of David Collins free throws gave USF a 66-62 advantage with 1:15 left but Utah State managed to get a pair of much-needed layups within the final minute to even things up. Xavier Castaneda’s potential game-winning three for the Bulls clanked off the iron, sending the game into overtime.

The two foes continued to trade buckets in OT, finding themselves nodded up at 74 with less than a minute remaining. The Aggies held possession with 34 seconds and the shot clock on but a kicked ball call on Maricevic with 13.4 left on the clock allowed Utah State to take the final shot of the period.

Trying to walk off with the ‘W’, an Abel Porter three missed, only to bounce off the hands of USU’s Brock Miller, USF’s Justin Brown and into the hands of Bean, who successfully put up the game-winner to seal it for the Aggies.

Collins and Rideau both had 15 points to lead the Bulls in scoring. The Bulls will head down to Sunrise on Saturday at noon to take on Florida State in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. That game will be televised on FS2.