(RV) Memphis beats USF 93-86

MEMHIS, Tenn. (December 29, 2022) The University of South Florida Bulls (7-7, 0-1 AAC) had their five-game winning streak snapped Thursday night at FedExForum when the Memphis Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) came from behind late in the game. in the second half for a 93-86 win at home.

Serrel Smith Jr. had a career-high 21 points off the bench and at Memphis Tyler Harris scored all 17 points in the second half of the game.

The last two meetings between the Bulls and Tigers in Memphis were decided by a combined three points, and Thursday’s tilt was no different in a back-and-forth battle.

The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 46-46 after Smith Jr. knocked down each of his first seven shots, including five from beyond the arc, which saw USF tie it again in the second half, 54-54, at 15:53.

An 11-0 run by the Bulls made it 67-57 with 11:47 left on the clock, but the Tigers kept pounding away and eventually ended the game with a 19-5 run over the final four minutes. .

“Give our guys a lot of credit. Memphis got off to a good start and we didn’t get beat in the first half,” the head coach said. Brian Gregory. “Their pressure late forced a lot of turnovers and made the difference. It’s always tough to play on the road and we didn’t play late enough to get it done. We missed too many shots at the rim and we just didn’t do it overall for 40 minutes tonight. We did a lot of good things in 36 minutes time. We learn from this. We have to look back and realize what we did wrong and fix it.”

South Florida entered the game averaging less than 12 turnovers per game, but finished Thursday’s contest with a season-high 20, including 12 in the second half.

Memphis led 21-12 in the first half, but USF weathered the storm and tied the score at halftime. Smith Jr. went 16 of 21 in the first half on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the field (4-4-4 from downtown).

The Tigers erased a seven-point USF lead, 81-74, in 4:21 with eight unanswered points to regain the lead for good with 2:22 left in the game.

Noteworthy

• Keyshawn Bryant gave 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a couple of blocks off the bench.
• Smith Jr. scored 21 points in just 18 minutes.
• Russel Tchewa finished with a team-best 11 rebounds followed by Jamir Chaplin with nine.
• Thursday was USF’s first loss this season after scoring at least 70 points.
• The Bulls are averaging 75.8 points per game over their last nine games (7-2 record).

Next

The Bulls return home to open a two-game homestand starting with Temple on January 4th at 7pm at the Yuengling Center in Tampa.

Tickets are on sale now. Fans are encouraged to visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls to purchase tickets.

Stay up-to-date with the latest USF men’s basketball news by following the Bulls on social media (Twitter|Facebook|Instagram).

About USF Men’s Basketball

The USF men’s basketball team is led by a head coachBrian Gregory, which will begin its sixth season in 2022-23. Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history in March 2017 after previously leading programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State Hall of Fame head coach TomIzzo, helping the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA Championship. Gregory owns more than 300 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship with Dayton. In his second season at the Bulls’ helm, Gregory led the team to an NCAA-best winning streak, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.

USF has retired three numbers in its history: ChuckyAtkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and RadenkoDobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA Tournament bids, made eight NIT appearances and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.

For tickets, contact the USF Box Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or go online toUSFBullsTix.com.

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