College basketball

Bulls get win, lose player

By GREG AUMAN
Published November 19, 2005

TAMPA - The scoreboard showed a promising 69-52 victory, but the hard-luck Bulls finished their season opener against Alcorn State with a potentially significant loss.

Sophomore Collin Dennis, who stepped in as the team's point guard after freshman Chris Howard was lost for the season Nov. 8, went down in the second half with an Achilles tendon injury and watched the rest from courtside, leaving the Sun Dome on crutches.

"I've yet to experience a bad win," said coach Robert McCullum, hopeful Dennis' injury wasn't severe, though trainers gave no timetable for a possible return. "I'm really proud of the guys for the way they held themselves through quite a bit of adversity."

Senior center Solomon Jones had his first career double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, but he too gave a scare to the announced crowd of 3,071, helped off the court with 7:15 to play. Having played all 33 minutes, his problem was only cramps, and while he didn't return, cramps are relatively good news for the Bulls.

Leading the way for USF (1-0) was senior guard James Holmes, who scored a game-high 21 in a career-high 38 minutes. When Alcorn State (0-1) pulled within 49-44 with 7:15 to play, Holmes scored 13 points during a key 15-5 run that put the game out of reach.

"It's tough always to lose guys, and we're already short," Holmes said. "I try to think optimistically. There are positives in everything. With people going down, it's a chance for other people to step up, like Chris Capko did an excellent job today."

Capko, a junior walk-on who had not played more than 13 minutes in a game, was pressed into significant playing time. He played 29 minutes and played them well, finishing with six assists and two steals while committing two turnovers.

The most promising debut came from junior forward McHugh Mattis, a St. Petersburg College transfer who had 11 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks off the bench. Junior forward Melvin Buckley hit just 3 of 13 shots but finished with 13 points in his first game for the Bulls.

The only player with more than a year of USF playing experience, Holmes had failed to score in double digits in 17 of his last 18 games, but stepped up to put the game away, drawing praise from McCullum.

"In the second half, I thought he played the way you want to see a senior play, the way we need him to play," said McCullum, who returns only four players from last year's 14-16 team. "They cut it to (five), and the three-pointer he hit right front of our bench was huge."

Holmes is now USF's only healthy scholarship guard, as Dennis would be the fourth lost since September. Junior Marius Prekevicius left to play professionally in Europe, junior David Sills was dismissed from the team, and Howard was lost for the year with a torn knee ligament.

Guard Delvin Thompson scored 18 to lead the Braves, who struggled from the perimeter, hitting one of their first 17 3-point attempts.

The Bulls have a week to rest before returning to action Friday at home against Jacksonville.

JURISPRUDENCE: Sills, a guard dismissed from the team three weeks ago, was arrested near the Sun Dome on Thursday on a felony charge of battery and a misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.

Sills, 23, shoved a USF parking patroller who was placing a boot on his white 1997 Cadillac STS in the parking lot adjacent to the Bulls' basketball arena, according to an arrest report. Battery on a university employee is a felony charge, and when his car was impounded, less than 20 grams of a substance suspected to be marijuana was confiscated, resulting in the second charge.

Sills, who had attended three junior colleges before enrolling at USF this fall, has been referred to the university's Student Affairs Committee for discipline that could include immediate suspension from campus. If he is unable to complete his fall classes, it could impact his eligibility to transfer and play elsewhere.

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:08:18]