TAMPA (November 14, 2022) – Tyler Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) finally broke his drought from three-point land on Monday night for the University of South Florida (0-3) in the midst of a nine-point run for the Bulls, who attempted a second-half comeback after trailing by 10 points at the break, but Stetson University (2-0) held on for a 68-67 win at the Yuengling Center.

Harris scored all 15 of his points in the game in the second half and paced the offense along with Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) who also scored 15 points against the Hatters.

"Stetson is playing at a high level to open the season coming off a win over Florida State into tonight," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We cut the lead to one in the second half, but that was the critical point of the game because we didn't get enough stops after that and allowed them to keep building their lead. We're playing hard, and doing some good things offensively, but we are shooting ourselves in the foot at the free throw line."

USF went 7-for-13 from the charity stripe on Monday night while Stetson went 13-for-16 in the victory.

The Hatters led by a 68-62 count with 1:34 left to play before Keyshawn Bryant (Winter Haven) cut the Bulls' deficit to just one point for the second time in the second half with a three-pointer with 58 second left on the clock.

A missed three-pointer by Stetson gave USF the ball back with 29 second left to play, and Harris, the Bulls' hottest hand, took a potential game-winning shot that fell short and was narrowly cleaned up by Bryant on a put-back dunk.

Chaplin opened the game with a made basket from beyond the arc, which stood as the only USF lead of the night. Stetson answered with a 13-1 run and carried a 38-28 advantage into the break.

Harris' first three-pointer with the Green and Gold came at the 12:07 mark of the second half in the amid a nine-point USF run that also saw freshman Ryan Conwell (Indianapolis, Ind.) connect from downtown as the Bulls' shaved the Stetson lead to 49-48 on a dunk by Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) with 10:23 on the clock, but the Hatters never relinquished their lead.

Sam Hines Jr. (Marietta, Ga.) drew his second consecutive start for USF and gave the Bulls seven points and five rebounds.

"Sam is one of our most dependable players. He always does what we ask of him whether that be in a starting role or not, he plays with energy and is scrappy," Gregory added. "Hopefully this will also be the breakout game for Tyler that we've been waiting for."

Notable

• Harris' three-pointer broke a 0-for-15 from downtown skid to begin his USF tenure – the longest of the sharpshooter's career. Harris entered his final season of eligibility as a career 34.3 percent shooter (39.3% in 2021-22) from beyond the arc.
• Russel Tchewa (Douala, Cameroon) logged 11 points and seven rebounds for the Bulls, his first double-digit scoring effort of the season.
• USF dished out 13 assists Monday while only committing three turnovers.

Up Next

The Bulls are home once again at the Yuengling Center on Thursday night to host Austin Peay at 7 p.m.  

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

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 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.

– #GoBulls –