HOUSTON, Texas (January 18, 2022) – Freshman forward DJ Patrick (Powder Springs, Ga.) scored a season-high 19 points for the University of South Florida Bulls (6-11, 1-4 AAC) on Tuesday night in a 74-55 loss at No. 10 Houston (16-2, 5-0 AAC).

Patrick scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and accounted for five of USF's seven made three-pointers in the game.

Caleb Murphy (Youngstown, Ohio) came up just shy of a triple-double, finishing the night with 12 points, and logging career highs in rebounds (8) and assists (8).

"We got in foul trouble early which got us out of sorts a bit and exposed us being short-handed tonight," said head coach Brian Gregory. "But, we had some good fight and intensity tonight, and really saw some guys step up. DJ came in and got some good looks and helped us make a run there in the second half."

The Bulls were down three players on Tuesday, including their second-leading scorer, Javon Greene.

Houston went into halftime with a 38-18 advantage after shooting nearly 50 percent (6-13) from three-point range in the first half while South Florida was just 1-10 from beyond the arc as Patrick hit the lone triple in the opening frame.

The Cougars' lead swelled to 25 points in the second half before Patrick got in a groove and knocked down four more three-pointers in the period. A triple from Mark Calleja (Hudson) at the 9:05 mark cut the USF deficit to 14 points as part of a 14-3 run by the Bulls.

"On the road against a top ten team, we never quit," Gregory added. "There were some encouraging things to build on that we showed in the second half. We know we can play better, but some of the little things we're starting to do right are going to bode well for us down the road."

Sam Hines Jr. (Marietta, Ga.) pulled down a season-high seven boards as the Bulls won the rebounding battle, 39-36, after being out-rebounded by Houston at home two weeks ago, 40-31.

Notable

• Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) chipped in nine points, but saw his streak of five straight games scoring in double figures come to an end.
• USF committed 17 turnovers which led to 17 Houston points on Tuesday.

Up Next

The Bulls return home to open a two-game homestand on Saturday against Temple. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. at the Yuengling Center in Tampa.

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.
 
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