Photo by Alex Felski | The Crow’s Nest
By Dominic Feo
Not even five minutes into the University of South Florida’s Jan. 14 game against East Carolina University, forward Daimion Collins emphatically blocked a layup before running down court and hitting his first catch-and-shoot three of the season.
The two-way play by Collins perfectly encapsulated the Bulls 82-71 win at the Yuengling Center. USF making half of their three-point shots in the first half gave the Bulls an early lead that the team maintained by forcing 13 turnovers defensively.
USF scored 20 points off turnovers while limiting ECU to just five.
Guard Josh Omojafo led the team in scoring with 18 points. Aside from a three-pointer for USF’s first points of the night, he dropped 11 of the team’s last 13 points in the last three minutes of the first half to give the Bulls a commanding 44-31 lead.
Photo by Alex Felski | The Crow’s Nest
“It really set the tone for my team just to give us that little fire and that little Edge to keep going,” Omojafo said during the postgame press conference.
Omojafo was one of five Bulls who finished the game with over ten points.
“East Carolina has obviously had their struggles this year, but they’ve got two really good basketball players in Gio [Emejuru] and Jordan Riley, that you have the game plan around,” head coach Bryan Hodgson said. “We like to think that we’ve got five or six that you’re going to have to build a defensive game plan around.”
Photo by Alex Felski | The Crow’s Nest
Izaiyah Nelson is listed as a forward. Surrounded by guards under 6 ‘6 in the starting lineup, he has been the de facto center for the Bulls this season. Nelson has played that role at an All-Conference level, leading the American Conference in field goal percentage (63.3) and rebounds per game (10).
Nelson tied for second in points (14) and led the team in rebounds (7).
Photo by Alex Felski | The Crow’s Nest
After scoring three points by halftime, guard Wes Enis also finished with 14 points. His streaky outing was reminiscent of his play against conference opponents this season. The senior transfer from Lincoln Memorial University finished USF’s first three conference games against UAB, North Texas, and Tulsa with 36, 3 and 32 points, respectively.
Now with a 3-1 conference record, USF’s next few games will be an opportunity to establish itself as a contender for the American Conference Championship.
