USF Men’s Basketball Beats Austin Peay 60-51

The South Florida Bulls men’s basketball team took care of business versus Austin Peay 60-51 on Tuesday night inside the Yuengling Center behind Javon Greene’s 14 point, eight rebound performance.

With the Bulls leading by as many as 14 in the second half, the Governors roared back to tie the game at 40 on a three-pointer from forward Tariq Silver with 8:08 left to play. After the Bulls’ last time out where they lost in heartbreaking fashion to South Carolina State, doubts started to creep in that USF could hang on for the win.

USF responded with a 10-0 run sparked by a Caleb Murphy jumper, and punctuated with a Jamir Chaplin breakaway dunk to effectively end the game. Chaplin finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

USF held the Governors scoreless for nearly ten minutes in the first half, but could only extend their lead to 14-2 thanks in part to some poor shooting and offensive possessions, but the Bulls took a 22-16 lead into the break.

Aside from a six-minute stretch, the Bulls defense did a great job on Austin Peay—who came into the game averaging over 73 PPG, and had four starters in double digits. They had just two tonight.

USF (4-4) will travel to the Orange Bowl Classic this weekend to take on the Florida Gators.

Notables

• Caleb Murphy finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
• Sam Hines Jr. got his first start of the year, and finished +14. He grabbed six rebounds and three blocks.
• USF played 12 different players at least two minutes tonight
• Brian Gregory wore a suit during the game for the first time since COVID started.