NEW ORLEANS, FEB. 18, 2017 – The University of South Florida men's basketball team (7-19, 1-14) lost 94-71 at Tulane (5-21, 2-12) on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Luis Santos (Bronx, N.Y.) shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor, setting a new career high with 16 points, all off the bench.

The Bulls faced an early deficit at Devlin Fieldhouse but redshirt freshman forward Tulio Da Silva (Brazil) kept USF close by scoring the team's first eight points.

Leading 12-10, Tulane then tallied a dozen consecutive points to establish a double-digit advantage and head into halftime with a 44-26 edge.

Junior guard Geno Thorpe (Pittsburgh) who was mired in first half foul trouble, helped USF lower the difference to 12 points with 6:41 remaining. He scored 19 of his team-high 22 points after halftime but Tulane extended the lead late to hold on for the win.

Key Stat

·        The Green Wave made 12 three-pointers, including seven in the first half.

Quotable

Interim head coach Murry Bartow on the game:

“It's frustrating. It is a game of shooting percentages and usually the team that shoots better wins. They shot 66 percent…a lot better than we did.”

Bartow on Santos' performance:

“Luis gave heart and soul. He has a mean streak in him when he is on the court. He was fantastic.”

Notables

• Thorpe notched his fifth, 20+ point game of the season. It was also his third game of 20 or more points in the last five games.
• Da Silva finished one point shy of matching his career high (18, twice)
• Santos tallied his sixth game of 10+ points this season.
• On Saturday, USF made three, three-pointers, giving the team 33 this month. The Bulls are participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer Three Point Challenge throughout February. Learn more/donate HERE.

Up Next

The Bulls play at Tulsa on Thursday night at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT).

About USF Men's Basketball

The USF men's basketball team is led by interim head coach Murry Bartow. Coach Bartow has served as a collegiate basketball coach for 30 seasons and boasts eight postseason tournaments, including four NCAA Tournaments.

The Bulls feature freshman Tulio Da Silva, junior Ruben Guerrero, sophomore Troy Holston and junior Geno Thorpe.

USF has retired three numbers in its 46-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. In the 2011-12 season, USF was one win away from an appearance in the Sweet 16.

For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.

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