Bulls Roll in Hodgson’s Debut, Rout Florida A&M

TAMPA — The South Florida Bulls routed the Florida A&M Rattlers 102-67 in their season opener Monday night.

The win came in head coach Bryan Hodgson’s debut with USF. Hodgson, who went 45-28 in two seasons at Arkansas State, also won his debut with the Red Wolves.

Hodgson’s up-tempo offense was on full display. The Bulls recorded 23 fast-break points compared with the Rattlers’ nine.

USF scored 100 points or more just twice last season. Monday marked the fifth time in the past ten years that the Bulls reached the century mark.

USF’s defense was equally dominant, holding Florida A&M to 37% shooting. The Bulls forced 21 turnovers, collected 13 steals and limited the Rattlers to five made 3-pointers.

Still, Hodgson wasn’t satisfied with his team’s defensive performance.

“I don’t think we were great defensively. I don’t think we executed to my liking on either side of the floor,” Hodgson said.

He cited botched defensive rotations and moments of “lazy” effort as reasons for frustration, grading the Bulls’ defense a C.

Junior transfer Wes Enis led all scorers with 22 points in his first Division I game after two seasons at Division II Lincoln Memorial University.

“This summer was challenging at first, but now I’m kind of getting in a groove,” Enis said.

Enis made five of USF’s ten 3-pointers. The Bulls shot 36% from deep overall, missing their first eight attempts.

The good news: those early misses created extra opportunities. USF dominated the glass in the first half, grabbing ten offensive rebounds. The Bulls finished with 17 offensive boards and 16 second-chance points.

After halftime, the offense found its rhythm. USF scored 55 points in the second half, assisting on 12-of-16 made field goals and shooting 53.3%. That was a considerable improvement from the first half, when the Bulls had eight assists and shot 40.6%.

Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson recorded a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds, including a game-high four on the offensive glass. The Arkansas State transfer posted ten double-doubles last season.

Nelson earned the team’s hard hat award after the game — given to the player who makes the biggest impact through hustle plays that don’t always appear in the box score.

“It’s about doing the little things,” Nelson said when asked what the hard hat means to him and his teammates.

Senior guard Josh Omojafo added 17 points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists. Sophomore guard CJ Brown and senior forward Isaiah Jones also scored in double figures. All 14 active players on USF’s roster saw time on Monday.

Monday marked Florida A&M head coach Charlie Ward’s collegiate coaching debut. Ward, the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State, played eight seasons in the NBA — the only Heisman winner ever to play professional basketball.

Senior guard Micah Octave led the Rattlers with 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior forward Tyler Sherley added 14 points, and Anquan Boldin Jr., son of longtime NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin, chipped in five.

Up next, the Bulls will travel to Connecticut for a neutral-site matchup against George Washington. It will serve as an early litmus test for USF. The Revolutionaries won 21 games last season and were picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. They also placed three players on the preseason All-A-10 teams.

“There are some teams that would be thrilled with what just happened, but when I walked into that locker room they felt the same way that I did,” Hodgson said. “It’s time to get back to work.”

If this blowout counts as merely satisfactory for Hodgson and his staff, Bulls fans could be in for something special this season.