USF and Tulsa each defended their home courts in non-conference action on Thursday night. The Bulls won by a 20-point margin (83-63) over Bethune-Cookman at the Sun Dome, while the Golden Hurricane defeated Prairie View A&M, 77-73, behind a 19-point performance by Junior Etou at the Reynolds Center.
USF 83, Bethune-Cookman 63
TAMPA, Fla.(AP) -- Malik Martin threw down a pair of dunks, Tulio Da Silva followed with two more and Stephan Jiggetts reached 1,000 career points as South Florida broke open a close game after halftime for an 83-63 defeat of Bethune-Cookman Thursday night.
The Bulls (5-6) scored the last four points of the first half to take a 36-35 lead into the break, and came out smoking for the second half, opening on a 20-13 run for a 56-48 lead by 13:17 left to play.
Jiggetts scored 20 points with seven assists. Two free throws with 4:56 to play put him at 1,002 career points. Payton Banks scored 16 points, Da Silva finished with 15 and Martin scored 10 points with three dunks early in the second half. Terrence Samuel also scored 10 and five Bulls reached double figures for the first time since Dec. 15, 2015.
Tulsa 77, Prairie View A&M 73
TULSA, Okla.(AP) -- Etou tallied 19 points and nine rebounds and Geno Artison buried a huge 3-pointer in the final minute to help Tulsa hold off Prairie View A&M 77-73 on Thursday night.
Corey Henderson Jr. added 15 points for the Golden Hurricane (6-4), who led by one point when Artison hit from long range to put Tulsa up 72-68 with 53 seconds left. Henderson hit 3 of 4 free throws and Jaleel Wheeler put the game out of reach with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining.
Gary Blackston scored 21 on 8-of-12 shooting for the Panthers (2-8), but he and fellow starters Dennis Jones and Zachary Hamilton all fouled out down the stretch. Jones finished with 12 points and seven assists, while Hamilton totaled 11 points and five rebounds. JD Wallace contributed a double-double -- 12 points, 10 boards -- for Prairie View A&M.