ORLANDO, Fla. FEB. 14, 2018 – The Bulls entered the War on I-4 finale prepared for a battle and got exactly that on Wednesday night. UCF (16-9, 7-6 AAC) defeated USF, 72-57, in a toughly contested game in Orlando.

Freshman David Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) carried the Bulls (8-19, 1-12 AAC) through the first half with 13 points on 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three. He finished the game with 15 points, his fifth straight contest in double figures, and went 6-for-10 from the field in the game.

Isaiah Manderson (Bronx, N.Y.) had his third straight strong game, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. He went 6-for-9 from the field in his third straight double-digit scoring effort.
As a team, the Bulls had a season-low eight turnovers in the game.

On the offensive glass, the Bulls had a 6-3 advantage. Malik Martin (Miami, Fla.) led the Bulls in boards, finishing with six to go along with seven points.

Key Stats
8 – The Bulls attempted only eight free throws in the contest, compared to 19 for UCF.

26 – The Bulls had a 26-24 advantage in points in the paint.

Quotable
Head Coach Brian Gregory on tonight's game:
"Our two freshman played well tonight. Justin made a couple mistakes defensively, but that's going to happen. I thought we got a big lift from Malik. Isaiah played well again for us. Those guys fought, when it looked like it was going to tip the other way, and got it back down. They got a little tired, and when the subs came in we lost it again. We're getting some good basketball from some guys, but other guys aren't playing as well right now."

Notable

• Over the last three games, Isaiah Manderson is shooting 72.4 percent (21-for-29) from the field.
• The Bulls won the battle in bench points, getting 29 from Malik Martin, Isaiah Manderson and Justin Brown.
• David Collins played a career-high 29 minutes in the game.
• Nikola Scekic (Belgrade, Serbia) hit the third three of his career in the first half. The first two came at Wichita State on Jan. 7. Scekic finished with five points and a rebound in the game.
• Freshman Justin Brown (Birmingham, Ala.) was the game's third-leading scorer, finishing with nine points and two rebounds.

Up Next
The Bulls return to the court on Sunday in Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the Golden Hurricane. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN3.
 
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.