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BY MIKE VORKUNOV
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
NEW YORK — With a noon start and an arena lightly sprinkled with fans, South Florida did what it had to do to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Bulls (20-11) built a 16-point halftime lead, hit the cruise control button and kept it at 65 the rest of the way for 58-49 victory in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Dominique Jones led his team with 20 points and received help in the form of 14 points from Mike Mercer. The effort never got too trying for the Bulls, the No. 9 seed, as DePaul, the No. 16 seed, looked like it was sleepwalking through some parts of the game. Then again, when the matchup started McDonald's in Chicago were still serving breakfast.
The Bulls led by double-digits most of the way, but it was interesting for a few moments when the Blue Demons cut their deficit to 36-31. South Florida responded by scoring the next eight points and went back on their way.DePaul (8-23) had the opportunity to become a bubble buster for the second straight year, but it was not in the works. Last year, also as the No. 16 seed, they upset Cincinnati in the first round to eliminate any remaining shreds the Bearcats had of going dancing. This year South Florida came prepared.
