LOS ANGELES (AP) Courtney Williams came off the bench and scored 31 points and No. 6 seed South Florida held on late to defeat Colorado State 48-45 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game Saturday night.
Williams, a non-starter for the first time this year, scored 18 of the Bulls' 25 second-half points to carry South Florida into the second round where the Rams will meet No. 3 seed UCLA on Monday. The Bruins defeated Hawai'i 66-50 earlier Saturday.
Jamie Patrick scored 17 points and Ellen Nostrum added 12 for Colorado State (31-2), the No. 11 seed and Mountain West Tournament champions.
South Florida forced Colorado State into 13 turnovers, and outscored the Rams 18-4 in points off those miscues.
Williams finished 12-of-29 shooting, with the rest of the Bulls combining to make 6-of-31.
The Bulls' leading scorer who started every game this season entered the game with 4:41 left in the first quarter and South Florida trailing 10-1.
