Augustus Gilchrist had 15 points and nine rebounds as South Florida jumped to an early 10-point lead and cruised to a 73-43 victory over visiting Florida Southern on Wednesday.

Toarlyn Fitzpatrick had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Blake Nash scored 13 points for the Bulls (3-0), who shot 48.3 percent from the field and held Florida Southern to 25.7 percent. Ron Anderson added a game-high 11 rebounds.

Kevin Capers scored 13 points for Division II Florida Southern, which was playing its season opener.

The Bulls led 14-4 after only 4:35 and scored the final five points of the half for a 33-16 lead.

Florida Southern, which lost five of its top six scorers from last season’s 23-9 team, shot only 18.4 percent from the field in the first half, including 1-for-13 on 3-pointers.

The game was played at the Lakeland Center, one of three arenas where South Florida will play while its on-campus Sun Dome goes through major renovations.