DALLAS (Dec. 31, 2014)— Sophomore Chris Perry scored double digits for the third straight game but the Bulls couldn't find their groove in an 83-49 loss to SMU Wednesday night.

Ben Moore led three other Mustangs in double figures with a conference game-high 15 points while SMU shot 52 percent from the field and knocked down five of nine 3-point attempts in its eighth straight win.

The Mustangs were picked to finish second in the league, behind UConn, and began the year ranked No. 22 in both the AP and Coaches Polls.

"SMU came out, they competed, they took it to us and we didn't respond. We did a better job in the second half, but too little too late," USF head coach Orlando Antigua said. "You have to give yourself an opportunity from the beginning. You can't come out like you're afraid. We have to stay positive and keep working and put this one behind us. We're going to leave this in 2014 and turn the page and get ready for 2015."

Perry and redshirt freshman Bo Zeigler combined for 23 of the Bulls 49 points. Perry scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, and was two rebounds shy of his fifth career double-double. Zeigler was 5-for-7 from the floor, and came within one point of tying his career high as he finished with 11 for the night.

The Bulls (6-8, 0-1 AAC) offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first half as USF was 5-for-24 while only scoring on one of its nine 3-point attempts. SMU (10-3, 1-0 AAC) scored 17 points off 10 USF turnovers while shooting 56 percent to take a 49-15 lead into halftime.

"They blitzed the ball screens and we didn't move the ball well. We didn't get open and they moved the ball well," Antigua said. "You have to give them a lot of credit for what they did. We were doing a decent job in the first half on the boards. We had too many turnovers and not enough assists. We had two assists in the first half and that's not good."

Despite the struggles in the first half, USF managed to shoot 50 percent from the field while tying SMU with 34 points in the second half.

"It's a reality check for us. It tells us how much more we need to continue to work," Antigua said. "We're not discouraged about it, we just have to get back to work. We were doing some good things in the second half that we can try to build on and just get better."

The Bulls will be back at the Sun Dome for two games as they take on East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 3 and UConn on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.  

"It will be good to be back at home but we have to come out and compete," Antigua said. "We have to do a better job to start the games off with some fight and some competitive spirt."