By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

HOUSTON, FEB. 23, 2019 – David Collins was the lone Bull in double figures as USF's offense couldn't heat up against one of the nation's toughest defenses in a 71-59 setback at No. 9/8 Houston on Saturday.

Collins (Youngstown, Ohio) finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists while USF (18-9, 7-7 in AAC) shot 31 percent from the field against the fifth-best scoring defense in the country (60.3 ppg). Houston (26-1, 13-1 in AAC) extended its nation-leading home winning streak to 33 games and won its 11^th straight outing overall.

Freshman forward Michael Durr (Atlanta) posted seven points and a game-high nine rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 37-34 edge on the boards. Alexis Yetna (Paris) added nine points and six rebounds in USF's return to conference play after a 95-54 win over Florida College on Tuesday.

T.J. Lang (Mobile, Ala.) made two of USF's eight threes and finished with eight points. Justin Brown (Mobile, Ala.) and Xavier Castaneda (Chicago) scored seven points apiece.

Collins led all scorers with eight points at the half while the Cougars took a 34-26 lead into the break after shooting 50 percent from the field.

Houston made its first four shots, including three from long range, to open the game with an 11-0 advantage. USF worked a double-digit deficit all the way down to one with 5:16 remaining in the period thanks to an 8-0 run that was sparked by threes by Castaneda and Brown.

Brown's jumper with 4:04 left got the Bulls back within one before Houston closed the half on an 8-1 run. Brown made three of his first five shots and accounted for nearly half of the Bulls' field goals in the first 20 minutes.

Just like the first half, Houston started off the second off fast with a 7-0 run that was stopped by Yetna's three with 16:34 to play. Another three by Lang got the Bulls back within 12, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way against The American's top defense.
 
Key Stats
33 – The number of consecutive home wins for Houston.
31 – USF shot 31 percent against the nation's fifth-ranked scoring defense.
30-14 – Houston's advantage in points in the paint.
 
Notables

• Houston owns the nation's longest home winning streak at 33 games and is 18-0 on its home court this season. The Cougars have won 11 straight games overall and sit atop The American standings.
• Michael Durr moved up to eighth on USF's freshman single-season rebounding list with 160. Alexis Yetna added to his program season record for rebounds by a freshman that's up to 243.
• As a team, USF moved closer to the school's season record for free throw attempts. The Bulls are now at 762 free throws, 34 away from the top mark set by USF's 2009-10 team.
• The Bulls totaled six steals Saturday and now rank 10th on the program's single-season chart with 224.

 
Up Next
USF returns to the Yuengling Center to host rival UCF on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Reserve your seats for the War on I-4 series clash at USFBullsTix.com.
 
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory. On March 22, 2017, 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. In his first season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to its first 10-plus win season since 2013-14. 

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.

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