TAMPA, Fla. — Not that a record crowd of 10,669 at the Yuengling Center needed to be exhorted on, but Kesean Pryor added to the electricity by waving on a frenzied gathering following his dunk that gave USF a 23-point lead over No. 24 FAU with 12:43 remaining.
It was a lead that swelled to 25 on two occasions, the second with 8:38 remaining. The Bulls needed every bit of that lead as the Owls fought back to come with a single point with 22 seconds remaining before the hosts held on for a 90-86 victory.
Sunday afternoon’s win extended the second-longest streak in program history to 11, one behind the mark set in 2011-12. It also allowed the Bulls (19-5/12-1 American) to maintain a one-game lead in the conference as Charlotte defeated Wichita State on Sunday to move past FAU and into second place.
Read: USF Men’s Basketball Making Program History, But Not About To Get Comfortable
“I think this is a program-defining, program-changing, program-solidifying win,” said coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who was an assistant at Murray State with FAU coach Dusty May. “Any time you beat a team that went to the final four last year and has 14 or 15 guys back, that tells you a lot about the culture and DNA of your program.”
It is a program that could find itself ranked for the first time come Monday afternoon. It is a program that has five games remaining before the conference tournament gets underway in Fort Worth the second week of March. And who knows from there. One thing is for sure, what is taking place at USF has been a breath of fresh air.
“This ain’t the same old South Florida, my brother,” said the first-year coach, who is growing more and more popular by the day off Fowler Avenue.
The Bulls take the court at UTSA on Wednesday evening and return home for another Sunday matinee (noon) next week against SMU.
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