TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2007) - University of South Florida junior Kentrell Gransberry scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in an 81-55 BIG EAST loss to Louisville Wednesday night in the Sun Dome.

The Bulls are now 9-8 overall and 0-3 in the conference while Louisville is 10-6 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST.

In the first half, the Bulls found themselves down 12-4 with 12:20 left in the period. USF pulled within four points at the five-minute mark, but UofL snatched an 11-point lead over the next three minutes. USF battled back to an eight-point deficit to end the half, 27-19.

Gransberry led all scorers in the first half with 10 points and added a team-high four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

After the break, USF closed the gap to four points, 30-26, but following a Louisville time out, the Cardinals hit back-to-back treys and made a layup to break open the game by 12 points.

Another pair of long-range makes from Louisville at 6:18 gave the Cardinals a 61-40 advantage and final control of the game.

Gransberry's game-high 19 points were complimented by 15 points, 5-10 treys, from senior Melvin Buckley and nine points from senior McHugh Mattis. Freshman Chris Howard added five assists to the USF effort.  Howard was making his USF debut following a pair of knee injuries that forced him to miss all of 2005-06 and the opening 16 contests this year.

The Bulls shot 41.5 percent (17-41) overall, and just 33.3 percent (5-15) from long range. The Cardinals hit 27-51 (52.9 percent) from the field and 13-30 from the three-point arc.

USF continues its BIG EAST Conference play January 14 against Cincinnati at the Sun Dome. Tip off is at 2 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN 360.