By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, JAN. 13, 2018 – USF made solid progress against its second straight top-25 foe, leading No. 14/13 Cincinnati for most of the first half before falling, 78-55, Saturday night at the Sun Dome.

USF (7-11, 0-5) had a 10-point advantage with 8:50 left in the opening half and trailed by only two at the break before Cincinnati (15-2, 4-0) pulled away in its eighth consecutive victory.

Payton Banks (Orange, Calif.) gave the Bulls a huge lift in his return to the lineup, knocking down four three-pointers and scoring a game-high 22 points off the bench. Banks, the team's leading scorer this season, missed three of the past four games with an illness.

Stephan Jiggetts (Forestville, Md.) finished with nine points and freshman David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) scored all seven of his points in USF's hot first half.

Seeking its first win over a top-25 team since 2012, USF held a lead for nearly 16 minutes of the first half before trailing, 35-33, at the break.

Jiggetts and Malik Martin (Miami) got the Bulls going early with three-pointers to help USF head into the first media timeout with a 10-6 lead. USF started 4-for-5 from long range and a pair of three-pointers from Banks pumped the advantage up to 19-9 with 8:50 to go before halftime.

Cincinnati gained distance on the Bulls after the break by shooting 70 percent from the field while USF went 6-for-24 (25 percent). The Bearcats headed into Saturday ranking second nationally in scoring defense at 58.6 points allowed per game.

Quotable
Head coach Brian Gregory on how Cincinnati was able to pull away in the second half:
"I thought Cincinnati's defensive pressure, not necessarily forcing turnovers, but just overall the defensive pressure, forcing some tough shots and contested shots in the second half was probably the difference in the game. The fact that you're minus-15 at the free throw line just puts you in a tough spot. You're going to have to be so good in so many other areas."

Payton Banks on his 22-point performance after missing three of the past four games with an illness:
"I've got to give it up to my teammates. They found me and it's my job to knock down shots and help my team win."

Key Stats
70 – Cincinnati built on its two-point lead at the break by shooting 70 percent in the second half.
34 – USF's bench scored 34 points, including 22 points from Payton Banks.
27 – Cincinnati went 27-for-31 from the free throw line.
25 – USF shot 25 percent from the field in the second half (6-for-24) after shooting 57 percent in the first 20 minutes.
 
Notable

• USF was the hottest it had ever been in the first half of games this season, shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
• Payton Banks finished two points shy of his career high of 24 points and one three-pointer short of his career best of five he's reached in four games.
• Stephan Jiggetts became the third Bull to play in his 100^th-career game this season, joining fellow graduates Banks and Terrence Samuel.
• Cincinnati now has a 32-8 advantage in the all-time series with USF.

 
Up Next
USF travels to Greenville, N.C., for a rematch with East Carolina on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN3). In the teams' first meeting of the season, USF had a late lead before falling to the Pirates, 67-65, at the Sun Dome on Jan. 3.

The Bulls are back at the Sun Dome on Saturday, Jan. 20 for a War on I-4 matchup with rival UCF that's set for a 6 p.m. start (TV: ESPNU). 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.

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