TAMPA, MAR. 7, 2020 – Laquincy Rideau scored 12 points and his 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left was the game winner as South Florida stunned SMU 61-60 on Saturday.
“Senior days are always emotional and difficult, and this one was as well. The sadness and the emotion of those guys never playing here again kind of gets wiped away by the way the game ended. I wanted to cry but it was hard because I was feeling so good about it. First and foremost, unbelievable credit goes to Laquincy and Antun, as I said the other day and you saw it today, those guys have changed the perception and expectations of this program. They both came into this program with a bit of a chip of their shoulders, and I think we’ve kind of adopted that as a team. Those two guys brought it every single day and they represent the program the right way in everything they do. It’s hasn’t always been easy because we’ve had to deal with some frustrations and disappointing times this season, but families stick together. We had to stick together until the very end. I challenged the underclassmen to make this day something our seniors would remember forever and they did that.” ~ Brian Gregory
Isiaha Mike made 1 of 2 foul shots with 42 seconds left and SMU led 60-53. From there, South Florida (14-17, 7-11 American Athletic Conference) scored eight points in 24 seconds.
David Collins made two foul shots for the Bulls. Then, off an SMU turnover, Ezacuras Dawson III missed a 3, for which the Mustangs grabbed the rebound and called timeout.
But Mike turned it over on the inbound, Justin Brown converted a three-point play on a layup when Mike fouled him with 13 seconds left and the Bulls were within 60-58.
After being intentionally fouled, SMU’s Tyson Jolley went to the foul line and missed both. However, Mike grabbed the offensive rebound, but he missed a lay-in attempt which set up Rideau’s game winner. SMU turned it over on its final possession to end the game.
Collins led South Florida with 15 points and Antun Maricevic added a season-high 14 points.
Ethan Chargois scored 20 for the Mustangs.
We sincerely hope you enjoy flipping through the handpicked photos by David Gold. The Bulls regular season is in full gear so be sure to check back right here for more USF Basketball photos all season long!
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Key Stats
32 – USF scored 32 points in the paint and received a season-high 14 from Antun Maricevic.
19 – USF scored 19 points off 18 SMU turnovers.
53.6 – SMU shot just 53.6 percent from the free throw line after entering the game as the top free throw shooting team in the conference at 77.4 percent.
5th – David Collins scored 15 points and moved into ninth place on the USF all-time scoring list with 1,266 career points.
623 – David Collins attempted 15 free throws and has now taken more career free throws than any player in school history with 623.
77 – Laquincy Rideau finished with five steals and now ranks second on the USF single season steals list with 77. He set the single season record last season with 101 steals.
⫻ 2020 SMU vs. USF Men’s Basketball Photo Album ⫻
