By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, DEC. 28, 2017 – Facing their toughest opponent yet, freshmen Justin Brown and David Collins stepped up for shorthanded USF in a 79-60 loss to Houston on Thursday night.

With top scorer Payton Banks out with an illness, Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) reached new milestones with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds while matching his career high with four three-pointers in the conference opener.

Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored nine of his career-high 15 points in the first half and finished his solid night with four assists for USF (7-7). Redshirt junior forward Isaiah Manderson (Bronx, N.Y.) joined the freshmen in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Houston (11-2) had four players finish in double figures and scored 30 points in the paint while snapping USF's three-game winning streak.

In its first game action in a week, USF trailed, 40-25, with 4:32 remaining in the first half but headed into the break with confidence after closing the action on an 8-2 run. Collins scored four points during the stretch and already set a new career high with nine points at the half.

Houston answered back with a 12-0 run early in the second half that pumped up its lead to 54-35. The Cougars kept a comfortable advantage while USF shot 29 percent from the field after the break (8-for-27).

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory's thoughts on USF continuing to battle without its leading scorer:
"We were obviously shorthanded a little bit today, but we didn't use that as an excuse. Our guys, we fought. It wasn't pretty at times and it could have probably caved in early and didn't. I'm disappointed in the result, but we did some good things… They might not have shot the ball well or taken care of the ball, but it was not due to any lack of effort, playing, the energy, or anything like that, and that's a step we need to take as a team and as a program."

Gregory on freshmen Justin Brown and David Collins contributing with career-best games:
"The two most important things – one, they're not scared. They know they're going to play, they've practiced well, even though David hasn't had a lot of practice time because he missed three and a half, almost four full weeks. They know what we want done out there and for the most part, they do it. The second thing is they are high-energy players, they play hard. Now, they'll make some mistakes, they'll overdo things here and there, but Justin Brown gets four offensive rebounds. He's our best offensive rebounder because he goes every time… David goes 4 of 9 (from the field), 5 of 6 (from the free throw line), physical around the basket with four assists and only two turnovers. He's starting to figure some stuff out."

David Collins on the freshman duo stepping up in Payton Banks' absence:
"We just had to take the best shots possible and try to make what we could because missing Payton, he has a big impact on our offense. It hurt without him."
 
Key Stats
31.6 – USF's shooting percentage after going 18-for-57 from the field.
30 – Houston wound up shooting 45 percent from the field after posting a 30-18 edge in points in the paint.
18 – Houston scored 18 points off 13 USF turnovers
 
Notable

• The Bulls were without leading scorer Payton Banks, who missed Thursday's game with an illness. Banks is averaging 13.7 points per game this season and leads USF with 32 three-pointers. Gregory said he hopes to get Banks back for Sunday's game at SMU.
• Justin Brown has posted career-high scoring games in consecutive outings. The freshman followed up his 12-point night against Charlotte on Dec. 21 with a game-high 16 points Thursday night.
• USF needs one victory to top its entire 2016-17 total after collecting its most nonconference victories (7) since winning nine games at the start of the 2013-14 season.
• Houston shot 32.1 percent from beyond the arc, which was nearly 10 percent less than its season average. USF headed into Thursday ranking second on The American in three-point defense (30.1 percent).

 
Up Next
USF will travel to Texas for a New Year's Eve showdown with SMU. Sunday's game tips off at 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.

Catch the Bulls back at the Sun Dome on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when they host East Carolina at 7 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
 
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, Gregory was introduced as the 10^th head coach in program history. He previously led programs at Georgia Tech (2011-16) and Dayton (2003-11). Gregory spent nearly a decade as an assistant coach under Michigan State's Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo and helped the Spartans win the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Gregory brings nearly 250 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship, to Tampa.

USF has retired three numbers in its 47-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times.