The South Florida Bulls men’s basketball advanced to the American Athletic Conference Championship after defeating the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball 86–64 in the semifinal round, powered by 24-point performances from senior guard Joseph Pinion and All-Newcomer guard Wes Enis.

Senior guard Joseph Pinion scored 24 points, shooting 8-19 from the field. Pinion also recorded his 1000th career point in the semifinal game.

Along his side, All-Newcomer Wes Enis put up 24 points, shooting 8-14 along with six threes.

The way the Bulls have been scoring this season has broken the program record for points in a season, which was set in the 2018-19 season.

“I got guys on my team that can get to the basket, you know, I got Wes over here who can shoot the ball. So it makes it really hard for teams, you know, to key in on me. So, you know, just every once in a while, I’ll get loose, and I’m able to hit that shot,” Pinion said.

Foul trouble made it difficult for USF to operate early in the first half. Three USF starters had at least two fouls seven minutes into the game. With a seven-point lead coming out of halftime, the Bulls turned it up about two notches, shooting 58% from the field compared to its 36% in the first half.

On the other side of the ball, the Bulls’ defense held the 49ers to 33% from the field and forced 14 turnovers

“Our defensive coach is really good at forcing turnovers, and then our offensive coach just tells us where we need to go with need to go with the ball,” Enis said.

The Bulls will take on the winner of the No. 2 Wichita State vs. No. 3 Tulsa contest in the American Conference Championship on March 15, right before the March Madness Selection Show.