Instant Analysis: USF 65 SMU 54

TAMPA- Fla. – Freshman guard David Collins scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to lead South Florida to a 65-54 win over SMU, its second consecutive American Athletic Conference victory, Sunday afternoon in the Sun Dome.

The Bulls trailed 27-22 at halftime but used a 14-6 run to start the half. When Stephan Jiggetts hit a jumper to put the Bulls in front 33-31, it gave USF the lead for good.

Malik Martin had 15 points and six rebounds, Jiggetts had 14 points and 8 rebounds while Terrence Samuel added 4 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

Ethan Chargois led SMU with 15 points and Jimmy Whitt added 14.

RunningTheBulls.com was at the game and here is our Instant Analysis:

IT WAS OVER WHEN: Collins scored on a layup to give the Bulls a 13-point lead at 55-42 with 7:05 to play. Definitely enough time for a SMU comeback but the Mustangs were a step slow for almost the entire second half.

HE STOLE THE SHOW: Collins, who should be a shoo-in for the AAC All-Rookie team, got off to a rough start and played just nine first half minutes. He caught fire in the second half. After the break Collins made six-of-eight field goal attempts, all four free throws plus had two rebounds and two assists.

THE STAT DOESN’T LIE: The Bulls held the Mustangs to just 14.8 percent (4-of-27) shooting beyond the arc.

WHAT A PLAY: With 6:02 left in the first half, Jiggetts threw a 20-foot lob to Malik Martin who caught the ball and slammed it home to cut SMU’s lead to 17-13

THE BOTTOM LINE: USF finishes the regular season with back-to-back wins and gets to ten wins for the first time since the 2013-14 season under Stan Heath. Thursday the Bulls will begin play as the 12 seed in the AAC Tournament in Orlando at 2 p.m. on ESPNU against a yet-to-be determined fifth seed. USF will be looking to win its first AAC Tournament game since beating East Carolina on March 10, 2016.