PEORIA, Ill. -- South Florida (9-4) outscored host Bradley 12-3 in the final 7:04 to pull out a 61-57 win Saturday night at Carver Arena.
The Braves (5-8) wrapped up their non-league schedule by dropping their sixth consecutive game and will try to shake their skid Wednesday night when they open their Missouri Valley Conference schedule at Northern Iowa. USF improved to 9-4 by withstanding its eighth consecutive game decided by no more than five points.
South Florida guard Shemiye McLendon finished the game with three points on 1-for-6 shooting and three rebounds, but he made two of the game's biggest plays down the stretch. With 3:09 remaining, McLendon's 15-foot wing jumper was flat and short, but the ball clanged high off the front of the rim and dropped in to pull the Bulls within 56-55. With the game tied at 57-57, Victor Rudd missed a 3-pointer, but McLendon grabbed his only offensive rebound of the game while heading out of bounds. With one foot still in the ground, McLendon was able to call timeout before falling out of bounds with 1:19 remaining and the Bulls got two Corey Allen, Jr. free throws on the resulting possession to take the lead for good, 59-57.
Zach Leday stole a baseline out-of-bounds pass from under the Bradley basket with 49 seconds left, but he committed a turnover himself at the other end with 20 seconds left. Bradley guard Walt Lemon, Jr. was called for a charge driving to the basket with 12 seconds left and Allen sealed the win by sinking two more free throws for the game's final points with 10 seconds remaining.
Freshman center Chris Perry scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Bulls, while Rudd added 17 and Allen chipped in with 11. Lemon led the Braves with 17 points, seven assists and four steals, while forward Tyshon Pickett came off the bench for the first time this season and contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.
Bradley started the game cold from the field and faced a 20-8 deficit with 11 minutes left in the first half, but went to a zone defense to slow the Bulls. Still facing a 22-10 deficit with less than 9 minutes left in the half, Bradley suddenly found its range and made 7-of-8 field goal attempts in a span of 5:44, gaining its first lead, 28-26, on a Jordan Swopshire 3-pointer with 3:10 left in the half.
That Swopshire trey was the first of the game's 10 lead changes.
