By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPAÂ - The Bulls started off each half in promising fashion but weren't able to keep it going in a 64-44 loss at No. 23 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
Victor Rudd was the lone Bull in double figures with a game-high 16 points as USF went more than eight minutes without a field goal in the second period while Pitt took control at the Petersen Events Center. The Bulls (10-17, 1-14) did not make a 3-pointer after the break in their 10th consecutive loss.
"When you go minutes and minutes and minutes when you don't put the ball in the basket it's tough. We need to convert," USF head coach Stan Heath said.
Tray Woodall heated up down the stretch to finish with 14 points for Pitt (22-7, 10-6). Dante Taylor posted 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the Panthers end up with a 42-25 advantage on the boards.
"Their inside game proved to be a little bit too much for us," Heath said.
Scoring wasn't a problem for the Bulls early on as Toarlyn Fitzpatrick and Rudd started out with five points apiece to power a 14-6 USF run to open the game. Â
"I was very pleased with the start of the game and the energy we were playing with. We really made it hard for them to get shots," Heath said.
An alley-oop dunk by Jawanza Poland capped off the run with 12:38 to go before halftime but the Bulls had to wait more than six minutes before their next field goal.
A Trey Zeigler jumper gave Pitt a 20-19 lead with 5:17 to go before the break and the Panthers went into halftime with a 26-25 advantage. The Bulls' defense kept things close by limiting Pitt to a 7-for-26 performance from the field in the opening period.
USF started the second half on a 5-0 run and regained the lead on a Rudd jumper with almost 16 minutes remaining. Just like the first half, the Bulls weren't able to keep the momentum and went more than eight minutes without a field goal. Pitt took control of the game with a 16-0 run that put the Panthers ahead, 44-30, with 9:45 to play.
A dunk by Rudd with 7:37 remaining ended USF's field goal drought and a layup by Martino Brock kept the Bulls within 10 with about six minutes to play. A layup by Anthony Collins got USF back within 10 with less than four minutes to go but Woodall scored half of the Panthers' points on a 14-4 run to end the game.
The Bulls went 15-for-47 from the field and Heath was surprised by USF's inability to convert from close range when it had good looks.
"We just couldn't knock down those open shots," Heath said.
The Bulls return to the Sun Dome for the final two home games of their season. USF takes on DePaul 2 p.m. Sunday and faces UConn on Wednesday, March 6 at 9 p.m. The Bulls wrap up their regular season Saturday, March 9 at Cincinnati.
