Associated Press

Virginia's Mamadi Diane (24) shoots the ball over South Florida's Dominique Jones on Wednesday night in the Cavaliers' two-point victory.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In a non-televised matchup between men's basketball teams picked to finish last in their respective conferences, Virginia and South Florida put on a decent show Wednesday night.

Freshman Sylven Landesberg's layup with 13.9 seconds left forced the 19th and last lead change of the night as UVa held on for a 77-75 victory at John Paul Jones Arena.

Landesberg, named ACC rookie of the week after scoring 28 points against VMI, put his name into consideration for a repeat selection by scoring a team-high 21 points.

"I didn't expect, in his first two games, that he was going to get 28 and 21," UVa coach Dave Leitao said, "but I never really worried about his presence. He has a quiet, without cocky, presence about him as a basketball player. And, I noticed that very early on."

UVa (2-0) never led by more than three all night and trailed 75-74 following two free throws by USF's Dominic Jones with 38 seconds left.

During a timeout with 34 seconds left, Leitao set up a play designed to isolate Mamadi Diane. However, the play broke down and point guard Calvin Baker was left to improvise.

With just over 15 seconds remaining, Baker was able to beat his defender and work his way into the lane.

"They were playing zone and [the center] was watching me closely," Landesberg said, "but he had to stop Calvin because Calvin would have scored if he didn't. That's why I was left wide open."

The ensuing layup was as easy as any shot Landesberg attempted all night.

"I live for those moments, just being able to make the big shot," said Landesberg, a 6-foot-6 McDonald's All-American from Flushing, N.Y. "I really wanted the ball there."

Landesberg's bucket put the Cavaliers ahead 76-75 and they had to sweat out a driving one-hander by Jones that bounced off the rim and into Landesberg's hands with eight seconds left.

Landesberg was fouled by Aris Williams with seven seconds left and made only the first of two free throws, giving the Golden Bulls (1-1) one last chance. A desperation shot by Jones bounced high off the rim and the Golden Bulls couldn't get off another shot before time expired.

USF had five more field goals than Virginia, but the Cavaliers made 18 free throws compared to six for the Golden Bulls. But if Virginia had been unable to hold on, free-throw shooting would have been the reason.

Baker, one of the Cavaliers' most experienced players, went to the free-throw line with 48.8 seconds remaining and a chance to put Virginia ahead by three points. However, he missed both ends of a two-shot opportunity.

Baker entered the game when freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski picked up his fourth foul with 6:32 left and stayed on the floor the rest of the way. His only field goal of the game, a hanging layup with his back to the basket, had broken one of 14 ties.

"It just kind of shows that he's got resiliency because, obviously, he didn't have a great day," Leitao said. "I think, when you don't have a great day and you can still make plays at the end, it shows enough character that a coach can believe in you."

UVa's top two scorers, Landesberg and junior forward Jamil Tucker, came off the bench. Tucker finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and was the biggest "surprise" to USF coach Stan Heath.

Jones and backcourt mate Jesus Verdejo had 23 and 22 points, respectively, for the Golden Bulls. USF is coming off a 12-19 season in 2007-2008, when it was 3-15 in the Big East.

"Had we won, I would have said this was a fun and entertaining game," Heath said. "I thought both teams played well and the game could have gone either way."

South Florida MP FG FT R A F PT

Williams 20 0-1 0-0 4 0 3 0

Ajayi 9 1-4 0-2 2 0 1 2

Howard 28 5-9 1-2 2 3 5 12

Jones 38 10-23 3-4 5 5 2 23

Verdejo 37 9-15 0-2 2 1 0 22

Espinosa 20 3-4 0-0 6 2 3 6

Leemow 17 0-2 0-0 1 2 2 0

Rivas Sanchez 31 4-7 2-2 9 0 3 10

Totals 200 32-65 6-12 39 13 19 75

Virginia MP FG FT R A F PT

Diane 30 6-14 1-2 3 1 3 13

Scott 32 4-9 2-2 6 1 2 10

Meyinsse 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Farrakhan 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Baker 17 1-5 1-4 1 2 1 3

Tucker 27 4-8 5-8 7 1 0 15

Zeglinski 22 2-7 4-4 5 4 4 9

Landesberg 31 8-15 4-6 4 0 1 21

Soroye 15 1-1 1-2 6 0 1 3

Jones 15 1-8 0-0 0 1 2 3

Totals 200 27-67 18-28 39 10 15 77

Rebounds include team rebounds.

Score by periods:

South Florida 34 41 -- 75

Virginia 34 43 -- 77

Three point goals: South Florida 5-15 (Verdejo 4-7, Howard 1-2, Leemow 0-2, Jones 0-4), Virginia 5-19 (Tucker 2-3, Landesberg 1-2, Zeglinski 1-3, Jones 1-5, Scott 0-1, Baker 0-1, Diane 0-4).

Turnovers: South Florida 14 (Howard 5), Virginia 10 (Diane 2, Scott 2).

Blocked shots: South Florida 4 (Espinosa 2), Virginia 3 (Soroye 2).

Steals: South Florida 2 (Jones, Rivas Sanchez), Virginia 8 (Landesberg 3).

Officials: Hess, Jones, Lindsay.

Attendance: 8,810.