AUBURN, Ala. (November 11, 2022) – For the second year in a row, the University of South Florida Bulls (0-2) gave the nationally-ranked Auburn Tigers (2-0) all they could handle. On the road at Neville Arena Friday night, South Florida saw a 30-21 halftime lead evaporate into a 67-59 loss to No. 15 Auburn.

Fifth-year senior Keyshawn Bryant (New Haven) scored 10 points to eclipse 1,000 in his collegiate career. The former South Carolina Gamecock fittingly reached the milestone against a familiar SEC foe.

Selton Miguel (Luanda, Angola) paced the Bulls with 13 points, Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) chipped in 10, while Sam Hines Jr. (Marietta, Ga.) finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The Georgia native had 20 family members in attendance among the raucous crowd of 9,121.

Bryant cashed in his 1,000th career point at the free throw line late in the second half, but it was the charity stripe that plagued South Florida on Friday night in the physical battle. USF went just 13-for-25 from the free throw line in the setback.

The Tigers weren't sharp from the free throw line either (20-for-32), but had plenty of opportunities after getting into the bonus midway through the second half. With a 60-54 lead in the final minute, Auburn salted the game away with all seven of their final points at the free throw line.

"A tremendous effort tonight, but a disappointing loss," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We did a lot of good things, including on the offensive glass, but we have to make our free throws. We've lost two games now because we're shooting 50 percent from the free throw line. It was a hard-fought game in a hostile environment. If we continue to play with this intensity level, and start to execute on the offensive end by finishing shots at the rim and hitting our open looks, we're going to like the results. I believe this group has a high ceiling."

The defensive slugfest opened with both teams scoring their first points from their respective free throw lines. The Bulls and Tigers committed four turnovers apiece over the first three minutes of play before Hines Jr. tallied the first field goal on either side at the 16:47 mark.

Hines then made it back-to-back buckets and Chaplin followed with two of his own to cap a nine-point USF run for a 9-2 lead.

The Bulls' defense continued to pester the Tigers and forced six turnovers in first six minutes of the contest.

Auburn answered with a 9-1 offensive run that was slowed by Miguel's second three-pointer of the opening half.

A dunk by Bryant sparked a 10-3 USF run over the final three and a half minutes of the half which was punctuated once again by the senior wing throwing down at the rim to give the Bulls a nine-point halftime lead.

The teams traded buckets early in the second half before a 15-3 Auburn run at the halfway point gave the Tigers their first lead since the opening minutes of the ballgame. The home team never relinquished that lead.

Notable

• Bryant nearly logged a double-double as well, stuffing the stat sheet with nine rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists to go along with his 10 points.
• Hines Jr.'s 10 rebounds are a new high during his two-year tenure at USF.
• The Bulls out-rebounded the Tigers, 43-41, including 20 offensive rebounds which led to 19 second-chance points.
• USF forced 20 Auburn turnovers, leading to 16 points and 16 fast-break points.
• Auburn's star point guard Wendell Green Jr., who the Bulls held scoreless in last year's meeting, was limited to two points in the first half before finishing with a team-high 20.
• Auburn has won 40 straight non-conference home games.
• The Tigers defeated the Bulls last season, 58-52, in another defensive battle at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Up Next

The Bulls return home on Monday, November 14 to face Stetson at 7 p.m. at the Yuengling Center in Tampa.  

Tickets are on sale now. Fans are encouraged to visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls to purchase tickets.

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About USF Men's Basketball

The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory, who enters his sixth season in 2022-23. 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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