University of South Florida
West Virginia
Bulls Unable To Catch West Virginia In 69-58 BIG EAST Loss
January 17, 2007 | Men's Basketball
TAMPA, Fla. (January 17, 2007) -- The University of South Florida men's basketball team cut a double-digit second-half deficit to three points, but couldn't get any closer in a 69-58 BIG EAST loss at West Virginia Wednesday night.
Senior forward McHugh Mattis led a group of four Bulls in double figures, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double. Classmate Melvin Buckley chipped in 17 points and junior Kentrell Gransberry contributed 11 points and nine rebounds in 25 foul-plagued minutes.
The Bulls fell behind 16-4 in the opening minutes as the Mountaineers came out clicking offensively from behind the 3-point line. WVU finished with eight treys in the game, but only one came following intermission.
Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Bulls began to close the gap in the opening minutes of the second stanza. USF used a 10-2 run to set the score at 43-40 with 13:20 on the clock, but would get no closer the rest of the way. WVU recorded an 8-1 run of its own to push the team comfortably ahead and it never looked back.
USF finished with a 39-33 advantage on the boards, but shot just 9-of-20 from the charity stripe. WVU was also able to turn Bull miscues into 16 points.
