SUNRISE, Fla. (December 18, 2021) – The University of South Florida (4-5) made a second half surge on Saturday against the University of Florida (8-3) at the Orange Bowl Classic, cutting a double-digit deficit to three points midway through the period, but the Gators denied the Bulls' comeback bid in a 66-55 final.
The Gators led by as many as 16 points early in the second half before South Florida put together a 16-4 run, capped on a three-pointer by Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.), to slash the UF lead to 48-45 with nine minutes left to play.
"I thought we made some nice second half adjustments, but we just didn't make enough plays down the stretch," said head coach Brian Gregory. "Those last six minutes in the first half really decided the outcome."
The Bulls opened the game with a 7-3 advantage, but it was the Gators who closed strong in the first half, going on a 17-2 run into the break for a 30-18 halftime lead.
Caleb Murphy (Youngstown, Ohio) paced South Florida in points (16), assists (5) and steals (3). Six different USF players had at least one steal in the game. The Bulls forced 17 Gator turnovers while only committing 12 turnovers in the setback.
"We did a good job of taking care of the ball on our end and forcing turnovers on the defensive side," Gregory added. "But we didn't take care of the glass very well today and that hurt us."
Florida owned a 45-27 rebounding advantage, including 18 offensive boards which the Gators turned into 14 second chance points.
Notable
- South Florida's 11 steals in the game are a high season high.
- Bayron Matos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) made his first start of the season and finished with two points and two blocked shots.
- Jalyn McCreary (Marietta, Ga.) posted new season highs in points (8), rebounds (5) and minutes (21).
Up Next
The Bulls travel to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic beginning on Wednesday, December 22 against (RV) BYU. Tipoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. South Florida will also play games on December 23 and December 25 at the event.
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF men's basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory, who enters his fifth season in 2021-22. Gregory was introduced as the 10th head coach in program history in March of 2017 after previously leading 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 owns over 300 career head coaching wins and six postseason appearances, including the 2010 NIT Championship with Dayton. In his second season at the helm of the Bulls, Gregory led the team to the best win turnaround in the NCAA, the most single-season wins in school history and the 2019 College Basketball Invitational championship.
USF has retired three numbers in its history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids, appeared in the NIT eight times and won the 2019 College Basketball Invitational.
For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
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