TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2006) ? In the final contest of the University of South Florida's five-game homestand, the men's basketball team lost 56-46 to the Richmond Spiders Tuesday night at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls dropped to 4-1 on the season while the Spiders left Tampa with a 4-3 record.

Richmond took an early five-point lead in the game, forcing USF to play catch-up until the six-minute mark of the first half. The Bulls tied the game at 16-16, then took the lead at 21-20, but did not score again in the first period.

The Spiders led the Bulls 27-21 at the intermission.

Senior forward McHugh Mattis led USF in the opening stanza, scoring seven of the first eight points and 13 of the team's 21 first-half points. He also blocked four shots and had two steals in the first 20 minutes.

In the low-scoring first half, the Bulls hit 8-21 from the field (38.1 percent) and just one shot from long range.

After the break, Richmond mounted a 10-point lead before USF hit its first bucket of the second period at 15:48. The Bulls battled back, bringing the score within three, 41-38, with five minutes remaining, but two long range buckets from the Spiders in the next two minutes put the game out of reach for USF.

In the second half USF improved its shooting percentage, hitting 10-25 shots (40 percent) and won the battle of the boards with the Spiders, ending the game with an eight-rebound advantage.

Mattis recorded his third double-double of the year and 10th of his career with his 21-point, 10-rebound outing. Freshman guard Solomon Bozeman added 11 points and six assists while senior forward Melvin Buckley dished five assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

USF continues its busiest month of the season ? 10 games in 31 days ? this weekend in North Carolina. The Bulls play at Winston-Salem State on Thursday, Dec. 7, then play East Carolina Saturday, Dec. 9. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.

The Bulls return to the Sun Dome Dec. 22 to play Missouri State at 7 p.m.