HATTIESBURG–The Bulls' comeback came up just a little bit short Thursday night in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Augustus Gilchrist's two free throws got the USF men's basketball team within one with 6 seconds left, but the senior's jumper at the buzzer missed in a 53-51 loss to Southern Miss before a crowd of 3,037 at the Reed Green Coliseum.

"We just have to go and get better from this. It certainly was a game that was winnable game for us," head coach Stan Heath said.

USF (7-6) fouled Rashard McGill with 5 seconds left and Southern Miss (10-2) widened its margin to 53-51, which set the stage for the game's final play. The Bulls intended to get the ball to Anthony Collins on the inbound, but Toaryln Fitzpatrick was pressured and found Hugh Robertson, who got it to Gilchrist for the final shot.

"We just didn't get a play out of it," Heath said.

Ron Anderson Jr. led three USF players in double figures with 12 points, while Gilchrist added 11 and Robertson had 10 in a game that had four lead changes and three ties.

"The hearts in the locker room are a little bit down because we know we had some plays we could have done a little bit better to get us a win, but we came up a little short," Heath said.

USF held Southern Miss to 34 percent from the field but had trouble of its own on offense, going 1-for-15 from 3-point range and missing makeable plays inside.

"We just had a hard time making some shots," Heath said. "We had some plays inside where the ball got knocked away that we could have finished."

USF aims to get back on the right track in its Big East home opener Wednesday at 9 p.m. against Connecticut at the St. Pete Times Forum. Purchase tickets online at GoUSFBulls.com.