TAMPA, Fla. –

The University of South Florida Bulls defeated the Appalachian State Mountaineers, 76-69 on Saturday. Three Bulls finished in double-digits to lead them to the victory.

The two teams traded leads early in the first half. Six minutes in, however, the Bulls built up a double-digit lead, which they maintained for the bulk of the period. After leading by 15 points on multiple occasions, the Mountaineers closed the gap to just nine, trailing the Bulls 38-29 at halftime.

Appalachian State opened the second half with a 9-2 run to tie the game up at 40 with just under 17 minutes on the game clock. USF responded with a 19-7 run of their own to build their lead back up to 12, 59-47, with 9:33 to go. The Bulls would again lead by 12 five minutes later. Appalachian State’s Ronshad Shabazz made a jump shot to cut the lead to ten. Less than a minute later, Shabazz hit a three pointer to close the gap to 7. Justin Forrest made a pair of free throws for the Mountaineers to get them within five. Another pair of free throws by Shabazz narrowed the USF lead to just three 1:13 left in the game. The Bulls would hold on, though, with a pair of made free throws by Xavier Castaneda giving them a five point lead that they would not fall below for the remainder of the game.

LaQuincy Rideau led USF in scoring with 18 points. Alexis Yetna scored 13, while bringing down a new career best 18 rebounds. Castaneda was the third Bull in double digits, knocking down a dozen and going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.

For the Mountaineers, Shabazz had a big game, scoring 29 points and hitting 7 of 9 from the line. Justin Forrest also did well for his team, racking up 17 points and going a perfect, 6-6 from the free throw line. No other Mountaineer scored more than ten points, but Isaac Johnson did pull down ten rebounds.

The Bulls dominated the paint, 34-20, and outrebounded Appalachian State 48-30. They also made 44% of their field goals, 40% from beyond the three point arc.

The Mountaineers fall to 4-6 with the loss. They will look to rebound at Georgetown on Tuesday.

USF improves to 7-2 on the season. They will head to Miami to visit FIU on Tuesday. Tipoff time is 7:00 PM.