National Basketball Association
South Florida 61, George Mason 57
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 29, 2012
Where: USF Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida
Officials:
# Clarence Armstrong, # Jim Burr, # Jamie Luckie
Attendance:
4856
By SportsDirect Inc.
South Florida 61, George Mason 57: Jawanza Poland recorded 16 points and Martino Brock added 14 as the Bulls held off a late run by the visiting Patriots to win their third straight.
George Mason trimmed a 13-point deficit to 55-53 with 33.9 seconds left, but Poland responded with four key free throws as South Florida (8-3) held on despite the loss of point guard Anthony Collins. Musa Abdul-Aleem added 11 points for the Bulls, who have won six of seven.
The Bulls scored 12 straight points early in the second half, capped by two dunks from Victor Rudd, to take a 34-24 lead. Collins went down after his head hit the knee of George Mason’s Sherrod Wright with 10:30 remaining in the game and he was taken off on a stretcher as a precaution.
Wright scored 24 points to lead George Mason (7-5) - his fourth straight game of 20 or more. The Patriots went 2-of-15 from 3-point range, including 0-of-8 in the first half.
There were 10 lead changes in the first half as both defenses forced tough shots. South Florida led by as much five, but Wright’s nine points helped the Patriots fight back to tie it 22-22 at intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rudd, who scored 29 points on Dec. 21 against Bowling Green, was 0-of-5 from the field in the first half before scoring all of his six points in the second. … George Mason dropped to 2-16 against Big East teams. … South Florida’s second-leading 3-point shooter, Shaun Noriega, missed his third straight game with a foot injury.
Top Game Performances
| George Mason |
|
South Florida |
|
Sherrod Wright 24 |
Scoring |
Jawanza Poland 16 |
|
Sherrod Wright 4 |
Assists |
Anthony Collins 6 |
|
Erik Copes 6 |
Rebounds |
Jawanza Poland 8 |
|
Sherrod Wright 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Jawanza Poland 7 |
|
Sherrod Wright 3 |
Steals |
Victor Rudd 3 |
|
Erik Copes 2 |
Blocks |
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| George Mason
|
57 |
36.7 |
2-15 |
11-13 |
8 |
31 |
5 |
7 |
16 |
| South Florida
|
61 |
38.8 |
7-17 |
16-27 |
12 |
33 |
4 |
7 |
15 |