Men's Basketball Holds Off South Florida, 78-70

Jan. 20, 2010

Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery

CINCINNATI - Deonta Vaughn scored a team-high 20 points leading the University of Cincinnati (13-6, 4-3 BIG EAST) to a 78-70 victory over visiting University of South Florida (11-7, 1-5 BIG EAST) on Wednesday night at Fifth Third Arena in BIG EAST Conference action. Vaughn, who reached the 20-point plateau for the second time this season, carried the Bearcats as freshman starter Lance Stephenson missed the game with an injury and sophomore forward Yancy Gates played only 10 minutes.

Freshman guard Jaquon Parker earned his second start of the season and finished the game with a career-high in points (15), minutes (35), and assists (5). Rashad Bishop tacked on 15 points, the third time in his career that he scored in double digits in back-to-back games, and Steve Toyloy scored nine points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Cincinnati won the tip and Parker immediately landed a three-pointer that started a 10-4 run for UC. Gates scored six points during that stretch, but also picked up two fouls and sat on the bench rest of the first half. The Bulls went on a 6-0 run and tied the game at 10 before Vaughn hit a three-pointer that led to a 13-6 run and a seven point advantage, 23-16, for the Bearcats with 10:31 left in the first half. USF went on a 10-3 run before UC closed out the half with a 15-6 run, taking its largest lead of the half, nine, into the locker room, 41-32.

Vaughn had 13 points in the first half and UC outscored USF, 31-28, without Gates, who played only four minutes.
The second half started with the teams trading buckets for the first 2:57. Toyloy gave UC a 10-point lead, 49-39, with a 180-degree dunk at the 15:49 mark. The Bulls got as close as five points on three different occasions in the second half, and UC led by 12 at one point, but the Bearcats held on for the win.

The Bearcats were outrebounded, 32-31, for only the fifth time this season but shot 55.6 percent from the floor - the seventh time UC has shot over 50 percent from the floor in 2009-10.

Dominique Jones was one of four Bulls to score in double figures, hitting a game-high 21 points for USF. Chris Howard scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Cincinnati will return to action this Sunday, Jan. 24, at Louisville for a BIG EAST contest at Noon.