DAYTONA BEACH (November 21, 2022) – The University of South Florida men's basketball team hasn't faced an opponent more times in its history than the University of Alabama Birmingham, and for the first time since 2015 (60th matchup overall), the Bulls and Blazers faced off at the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach's Ocean Center on Monday night.

South Florida got off to a hot start in the opening minutes, knocking down its first four field goal attempts, but saw UAB catch up in a hurry and run away late for a 80-65 Blazer win.

Tyler Harris (Memphis, Tenn.) paced the USF offense with a season-high 22 points, including 14 in the second half. The fifth-year senior was just three points off matching his career high of 25 set in 2018.

"We got hurt on the glass some, and we were just in incredible foul trouble throughout the game tonight," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We missed some critical free throws late in the second half after we had cut the deficit to single digits, and that can't happen if you want to beat good opponents. We've also got to find ways on offense to move the ball better and facilitate good shots for open guys."

UAB won the rebounding battle, 40-31, including 14 offensive rebounds which led to 20 second-chance points.

Selton Miguel (Luanda, Angola) opened the scoring for the Bulls that saw Sam Hines Jr. (Marietta, Ga.) follow with a bucket in the paint and Harris connect from downtown in the early minutes. Miguel finished the opening surge with an and-one that staked USF to a 10-8 lead.

The Blazers answered immediately with an 11-0 run to take a 19-10 advantage at the 14:48 mark and UAB led for the remainder of the contest.

UAB led by as many as 17 points, 62-45, midway through the second half before the Bulls pieced together an eight-point offensive run. Harris drilled consecutive three-pointers during the surge that cut the Blazers' lead to 62-53 with 9:23 left to play.

A layup by Miguel at the 6:47 mark made it a six-point affair, 64-58. USF had its chances to continue to cut into the lead at the charity stripe, but missed the front end of a one-and-one twice, and missed its final four free throw attempts overall to close out the game.

Notable

• After beginning the season in a 0-for-15 slump from downtown, Harris has gone 9-for-18 from three-point land since, including a 5-for-10 effort on Monday.
• Hines Jr. scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half against UAB. The sophomore forward is averaging 9.0 points per game after averaging 3.5 a year ago.
• Miguel finished with a season-high 14 points and five assists.
• Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) pulled down a season-high seven rebounds.
• Freshman guard Ryan Conwell (Indianapolis, Ind.) logged a career-high 23 minutes off the bench on Monday.
• Freshman Dok Muordar (Rumbek, South Sudan) saw his first action of the season off the USF bench.
• UAB entered the contest averaging 96 points per game offensively over its first three outings.
• UAB, who will be joining the Bulls in the AAC next season, leads the all-time series with USF, 39-21.

Up Next

The Bulls wrap up play at the Sunshine Slam on Tuesday, November 22 against either Georgia or Saint Joseph's. Game time is slated for 6:30 p.m. in Daytona Beach.   

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.

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