Falcons Fall Late to USF Bulls in Exhibition

TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons dropped a close one on the road to the University of South Florida Bulls on Wednesday morning, 94-84.

The Falcons started the game off hot, taking a 10-3 lead with 16:35 to go. USF would claw back over the next 6 minutes and eventually take a brief 20-19 lead for about 15 seconds before a Matt Simpson three-ball put the Falcons back up 22-20. The Falcons would never relinquish the first half lead again, taking a 46-42 advantage into halftime.

The Falcons got the first points of the second half, grabbing a 6-point lead, and then immediately got a stop and a transition layup attempt, but unfortunately, Simpson couldn't finish and the Bulls then went in transition to finish and put the score at 48-44. From then on the Bulls put up a 4-0 run to tie the game at 48. FC would immediately grab the lead back on a Simpson layup from Ethan Smith. They would stretch that lead to 55-50 with 15:30 to go in the game. Over the next six minutes, USF would go on a 23-8 run, mostly associated with FC turnovers or offensive putbacks for the home team. USF led 73-63 with 9:30 remaining.

The Bulls continued to stretch their lead out over the next four minutes, grabbing a game-high 18-point lead with 5:00 to go. The Falcons, who led for 25 minutes of this game, would not go down easy. FC rallied over the last five minutes to cut the 18-point deficit to just ten points when the clock hit zeroes.

The Falcons were led in scoring by senior guard Jalon Perry, who poured in a career-high 28 points on a very efficient 12-of-18 shooting. Matt Simpson contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers for the Falcons. Freshman point guard Ladarron Cleveland put up a respectable 12 points and 7 assists in his Division I debut. Ethan Smith and DJ Doakes added 9 points apiece, both nailing three triples in the contest.

The Falcons stay at 5-3, considering this was an exhibition contest for them. FC tallied 20 assists compared to just 11 turnovers against the NCAA Division I foe. The Falcons shot 47.8% from the field, 33.3% from three on 11 makes, and 90% from the foul line.

Quotable

Head Coach Chase Teichmann on the game:

"There's no such thing as a moral victory, but I am extremely proud of the effort our guys put forth today against such a formidable opponent. Statistically, the difference in the game was points in the paint, 50 to 30 advantage USF. We knew that coming in, we told our guys their best offense today will be the missed shot. And to be honest, all things considered, I think we did a pretty good job for our size. We were down two bigs and the two guys we had available were in foul trouble all game. They (South Florida) are a huge and physically strong team even at the high major level. They held Division I opponents to 62 points per game last year. 27 of their 31 opponents scored less than their season average against them last season. So for us to put up 84, even when we think we left some points out there, we can live with that result."

Teichmann on the play of Jalon Perry:

"JP was terrific today. I told him that walking off the floor. We couldn't have accomplished what we did today without him. I was also really proud of how efficiently he scored it. He has the ability to create shots for himself and his teammates. When he plays the way he did today, we can become a hard team to guard."

Up Next:

The Falcons will get the first of two holiday breaks coming up. They'll head home for Thanksgiving and then return back for a few weeks in December before heading home again for Christmas break. FC returns to the hardwood on December 10 for another NCAA Division I exhibition game, this time against Stetson University in Deland, Florida.

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