Men's Basketball Falls At USF
February 19, 2005 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA, Fla. --- East Carolina junior Corey Rouse recorded his league-leading 10th double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but it was a double-double performance by USF senior Terrence Leather that pushed the Bulls past the Pirates at the Sun Dome Saturday night, 60-50.
USF (11-13, 4-9 C-USA) shot 47.4 percent in the second half, while holding the Pirates to just 25.0 percent from the field after intermission. The Bulls led by four at the break, 28-24, and maintained that advantage the entire second half.
After trailing by as many as 13 with 7:07 remaining in the contest, East Carolina (8-17, 3-10 C-USA) made a late charge and pulled to within five with 2:40 left, 53-48.
Leather then stepped to the foul line and converted a pair of free throws to make it a three possession game with 2:06 left. The Pirates failed to score on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul. Marlyn Bryant then calmly sank two free throws for USF, who scored its final nine points of the game at the free throw line.
Sophomore Mike Cook was the only other Pirate to reach double figures, scoring 11 points, including eight in the final 5:19.
Leather led a trio of USF players in scoring. Senior Brian Swift added 17 points and Bryant chipped in 13 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
The Pirates' loss drops them one-half game behind Tulane for the 12th and final Conference USA tournament slot.
ECU returns to action on Wednesday, February 23 against Southern Miss. Tip-off is set for 7 o'clock inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
