By MARK DIDTLER (Associated Press)
TAMPA — Selton Miguel scored a career-high 25 points, Chris Youngblood added 23 and American Athletic Conference-leading South Florida won its 11th straight game after nearly blowing a 25-point lead, beating No. 24 Florida Atlantic 90-86 on Sunday.
USF (19-5, 12-1 AAC), under first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, is having just its second season with a winning record since 2011-12.
FAU (20-6, 10-3), which had been favored by 5 1/2 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, got 23 points from Vladislav Goldin and 20 from Johnell Davis. The Owls, who advanced to the Final Four last season, dropped to third place in the American.
The announced crowd of 10,659 set a South Florida home attendance record.
After trailing by 25 midway with 8 1/2 minutes left, FAU cut its deficit to 87-86 on Jalen Gaffney’s layup and Davis’ 3-pointer with 23.1 seconds to go.
Youngblood made it 89-86 with a pair of free throws. After Davis missed a jumper, Youngblood secured the win by making one of two from the free-throw line with 4.6 seconds remaining.
FAU got within 79-72 with 4 1/2 minutes left on a strange 5-point sequence. Nick Boyd hit a 3 while Gaffney was being foul. Gaffney made two free throws.
Youngblood made five consecutive free throws in the opening 10 seconds of the second half as USF grabbed a 51-31 advantage. The first two came before the clock started after Goldin was given a contact dead ball technical foul after the first half ended.
Miguel had 16 points and Youngblood picked up 15 as USF took a 46-31 halftime lead.
BIG PICTURE
Florida Atlantic: The Owls dropped to 4-4 in road games. In the previous two games away from home, FAU lost 76-73 in overtime at UAB on Feb. 8 and beat Wichita State 95-82 in overtime three days later.
South Florida: The Bulls have never been ranked in the AP Top 25 but received votes in last Monday’s poll. They are seeking their first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2011-12.
UP NEXT
Florida Atlantic: Hosts SMU on Thursday night.
South Florida: Play Wednesday night at UTSA.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
