Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Tyrell Biggs tallied 16 points, as top- ranked Pittsburgh used a second-half surge to shake off South Florida, 75-62, at the Petersen Events Center.

Sam Young scored 14 for the Panthers (16-0, 4-0 Big East), who head to Louisville on Saturday after their victory led them to the third-best start in school history.

Pitt's top two best starts to a season came in 2003-04 (18-0) and 1927-28 (21-0).

DeJuan Blair added 13 points with a game-best 18 rebounds and Levance Fields chipped in 11 points with a game-high 13 assists for Pittsburgh.

Dominique Jones and Augustus Gilchrist each posted 22 points for the Bulls (6-10, 1-3), who have dropped three of four. Chris Howard added 13 points in the loss.

Jones nailed a three to bring USF within 47-44 with a little over 16 minutes to play, but Fields responded from beyond the arc and Pitt reeled off eight in a row to go ahead by 11 after Brad Wanamaker hit a shot from long distance.

Young's three-pointer with 11:20 to play put the Panthers up 60-47, and the Bulls were only able to pull within nine as Howard drained a three with 8:06 remaining in the contest.

An 11-3 Pittsburgh run from there put the game out of reach.

Pitt charged out of the gate with the first seven points of the contest and went up 10-2 on a Biggs three, but USF came back to within 12-7 on a Gilchrist slam.

The Panthers were up by eight once more on a Gary McGhee layup before eight straight from the Bulls, ending on a three from Gilchrist, knotted the game 18-18 just before the midway point of the half.

A Biggs layup triggered seven in a row from Pitt, but the visitors clawed to another deadlock, at 30-all with 4:41 left, on two from the line by Jesus Verdejo.

However, the Panthers finished the half strongly, going up by 41-35 on a Fields three before two Jones free throws made it a four-point game at the break.

Game Notes

Pitt has won three of the five meetings...Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was in attendance...The Panthers hit 10-of-18 from beyond the arc, and the Bulls connected on 7-of-14...South Florida lost despite committing just nine turnovers, one more than Pittsburgh...Thanks to Blair, Pitt enjoyed a 37-23 advantage on the boards...Jones led USF with seven assists.