TAMPA -   The University of South Florida men's basketball team couldn't reproduce its second-half magic from Tuesday night in an 87-61 loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday at the BIG EAST Championships. The second-round loss wraps the 2010-11 season for the Bulls with a 10-23 overall record and a 4-16 mark vs. BIG EAST teams.

USF was successful on Tuesday night vs. Villanova because of the timely playmaking of point guard Anthony Crater and the sharp shooting of Shaun Noriega. Only Noriega continued his strong play on Wednesday after Crater was sidelined at halftime with a shoulder injury. Noriega scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Cincinnati team led by Yancy Gates, who scored 25 points.

Augustus Gilchrist also played well, scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in the losing effort. Jarrid Famous added 10 points in his final game as a Bull.

The Bulls couldn't muster another second-half comeback without Crater, who was replaced by LaVonte Dority at the point after his injury. The Bearcats opened the second half on a 10-5 run to make the score 42-29, and USF never pulled back within single digits.

The Bulls trailed the entire first half and went to the locker room down eight at 32-24. After climbing within 24-22 with just over four minutes to go in the half, USF was outscored 8-2 over the duration of the period.

Noriega finished the tournament with 34 points primarily on 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) shooting from three.

USF is now 2-3 all-time in the BIG EAST tournament and 18-30 in conference tournament play.

Game Notes
- The USF starters were Anthony Crater, Shaun Noriega, Jawanza Poland, Jarrid Famous and Augustus Gilchrist. It was the second game in a row that USF head coach Stan Heath used the lineup.  Hugh Robertson had been the only Bull to start every game this season, but he came off the bench in both BIG EAST tournament contests. He notched a career-high four steals off the bench vs. Cincinnati.

- Since joining the league for the 2005-06 season, USF is 2-3 in the BIG EAST Championship. USF is 18-30 all-time in four different conference tournaments.

-  Shaun Noriega hit four threes in the game and has hit multiple threes in 12 games this season.  He shot 10-of-19 from three (52.6 percent) during the BIG EAST tournament. 

- Anthony Crater had four rebounds, three assists and two steals when he left the game at halftime with a shoulder injury.

- Augustus Gilchrist scored 16 points, and has scored at least 10 points in all but seven games this season, including seven straight.