Panthers dominate Bulls in second half
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dante Taylor donated a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, as 23rd-ranked Pittsburgh used a second-half surge to top South Florida, 64-44, on Wednesday at Petersen Events Center.
"It feels really good," Taylor said of his first double-double of the season. "I've been working hard these last few weeks in practice, so I just tried to carry it over to these last few games."
Tray Woodall paced the Panthers (22-7, 10-6 Big East) with 14 points, while J.J. Moore chipped in nine points off the bench to help Pittsburgh earn its second consecutive victory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Victor Rudd poured in a game-high 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bulls (10-17, 1-14), who have dropped 10 straight and 14 of their last 15 games.
South Florida kept it close early on and trailed by just one, 26-25, at halftime before Lamar Patterson opened the second half with a layup to push the margin to three.
The Bulls responded with five straight points to grab a 30-28 lead, but the visitors went the next eight-plus minutes without a field goal, allowing Pittsburgh to run away with the contest.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With South Florida unable to score, the Panthers ripped off 16 straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Woodall and Durand Johnson, to take a 44-30 advantage on Moore's layup with 9:45 remaining.
South Florida never recovered and trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
"It just seemed like we had a hard time finishing plays, making layups, and some short shots," South Florida coach Stan Heath admitted. "We just couldn't get anything going offensively."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Bulls led by as many as eight in the first frame before a Taylor jumper sparked an 8-0 Pittsburgh push to knot the game at 14-14.
It remained a one-possession game from there until Trey Zeigler's layup sent the Panthers on a quick 6-0 sprint, but South Florida closed the half on a 6-2 swing to trim the margin to one heading into the break.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}South Florida swept the season series with Pittsburgh last season ... Pittsburgh's bench outscored South Florida's reserves, 28-9 ... Every Pittsburgh player that appeared in the game scored at least two points ... Pittsburgh shot 41.7 percent (20-for-48) from the field and held USF to 31.9 percent shooting (15-for-47).