ORLANDO, Fla. – The American Athletic Conference tournament got rolling to a slow, sloppy USF victory over East Carolina, 71-66.
Chris Perry’s 18 points were only topped by Angel Nunez’s 19 point, 11 rebound double-double. Though most of the game was a statistical match on both sides, the Bulls’ bench outscored their counterpart by ten and the team scored eight more points on second chance shots
“Chris in the second half, he gave us some big minutes.” Said USF Coach Orlando Antigua. “Big, big minutes, big rebounds and we need that kind of performance from both of those guys.”
Neither team was efficient on the floor, but East Carolina’s dismal 36.4 shot percentage sunk the Pirates. They connected only 24 of 66 total and only 6 of 30 from the three-point range. USF dominated within the paint to the tune of 42 total points while holding the Pirates to only 28.
“It’s really special to just come out here and bounce back the way we did,” said a relieved Angel Nunez after the game.
This is the highest that the Bulls have been seeded in the American Athletic Championship, having entered the tournament at No. 9 this year, No. 11 in 2015 and No. 10 in 2014. They will pick up again in Friday’s first game at 12:00 p.m. against Temple.
“Really excited for our guys,” said Antigua. “They battled and were able to come out with this victory and we talked about wanting to take just one step, worrying about the game we have in front of us, and they executed.”
“Happy that we get the opportunity to go out and compete again tomorrow.”
