James Beatty scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead Rutgers to a 71-62 victory over South Florida in the Big East Conference on Thursday.

The game was tied 25-25 at halftime, but the Scarlet Knights (11-7, 2-4 Big East) shot 56 percent from the field in the second half, including 6 for 10 on 3-pointers.

Nursing a 50-48 lead with 7:46 to play, Rutgers went on a 11-2 run that Beatty capped with a nice drive and leaning bank shot to make it 61-50 with 3:19 to go.

South Florida (7-13, 1-6) got within six with 1:11 left but had three turnovers in the final minute, and Rutgers made its free throws down the stretch.

Jonathan Mitchell also scored 20 points for Rutgers.

Augustus Gilchrist and Hugh Robertson scored 14 points apiece off the bench for the Bulls, who committed 15 turnovers that led to 19 points for the Scarlet Knights.