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TAMPA - The University of South Florida men's basketball team dropped their first home game in more than a month, as the Bulls fell to St. John's Saturday 74-58.
The Bulls got off to a slow start, and could not come back from a 16-point deficit in the second half.
USF cut the STJ lead down to four in the second half, but could not close the gap, despite a solid outing from senior guard Mike Mercer.
Mercer accounted for 17 points, the most from him since he scored 19 in the overtime win at Providence. Mercer added two assists and three rebounds.
Senior Chris Howard put up 14 points and added five assists and three rebounds in the loss. Howard has scored in double-digits in seven of the last nine games, and has recorded five or more assists in four of the last five games.
Junior Domique Jones was held relatively quiet in the first half, but he finished with 17 points for the 10th time in 13 BIG EAST games this season.
Junior Jarrid Famous picked up six rebounds for the Bulls in his return from a knee injury, and added three points.
The Bulls switched to a four-guard unit in the second half to create more turnovers, and that is exactly what guard Anthony Crater did. Crater picked up four steals and helped in transition, as he accounted for four assists as well.
The Red Storm came out strong and connected on four straight buckets down low to start the game, jumping out to the early 8-3 lead.
USF got some hot shooting from long range, and added some jumpers to tie the game at 11-11.
Both teams went back-and-forth combining for six lead changes, until STJ's Anthony Mason Jr. connected on back-to-back layups to put the Red Storm up 25-20 at the 7:17 mark of the first half.
The Red Storm outscored the Bulls 10-4 down the stretch, including a three by Paris Horne with 10 seconds remaining to take a 35-24 lead into the half.
St. Jones continued their run into the second half , as they extended their lead to 16 at the 19:04 mark of the second period.
The Bulls switched into a four-guard lineup, and started to get things going defensively.
Mercer got hot and scored six straight points for the Bulls, part of a 7-1 USF run to cut the STJ lead to 41-31.
Famous pulled down an offensive board for the Bulls and dished to Mercer who put it in for two, closing the gap to 43-35 with 13:38 remaining.
After a dish from Howard to Mercer, and another Mercer layup, the Bulls had it to within four at the 11:51 mark, but they could not slow down St. John's hot shooting.
The Bulls hung around, but eventually St. John's extended their lead back to as many as 17 again, 67-53 with 2:01 remaining, and would hold on to win 74-58.
INDIVIDUAL:
- Mike Mercer accounted for 17 points, the most for him since he scored 19 in the overtime win at Providence. Mercer added two assists and three rebounds.
- Senior Chris Howard put up 14 points and added five assists and three rebounds in loss. Howard has scored in double-digits in seven of the last nine games, and has recorded five or more assists in four of the last five games.
- Junior Domique Jones was held relatively quiet in the first half, but he finished with at least 17 points for the 10th time in 13 BIG EAST games this season.
- Junior Jarrid Famous picked up six rebounds for the Bulls in his return from a knee injury, and also added three points.
- The Bulls switched to a four-guard unit in the second half to create more turnovers, and that is exactly what guard Anthony Crater did. Crater picked up four steals and helped in transition, as he accounted for four assists as well.
TEAM:
- The 74-58 loss to St. John's was the Bulls' first home loss since they fell,69-50, to West Virginia on Jan. 13.
- The Bulls will move on to face No. 3 Villanova on Wednesday Jan. 24. The Wildcats will be the eighth team this season that the Bulls have faced that are in the top 25 or receiving votes.
