TAMPA (November 7, 2022) – The University of South Florida men's basketball team battled back-and-forth with Southeast Missouri State on Monday night in the season opener at the Yuengling Center before the visiting Redhawks outlasted the Bulls, 64-61. Keyshawn Bryant (Winter Haven) led all scorers on the night with 19 points for South Florida.

USF owned the lead for 16:34 of play compared to SEMO's 15:44, but a trio of three-pointers over the final four minutes of play helped lift the Redhawks to victory.

Bryant poured in 15 of his 19 points in the second half of the contest, including seven straight points to give USF a 54-53 lead on a triple with 3:42 left to play. SEMO answered right back with a bucket from beyond the arc on its next possession to reclaim the lead for good.

"We didn't do a good enough job on the glass tonight," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We allowed too many offensive rebounds which led to some kick-out threes. They also did a better job than us at the free throw line. We had a chance to extend the lead in the second half, but were unable to knock down some open shots. We'll learn from this and bounce back against a great opponent on Friday. I believe this team is going to grow and get better as we continue to play with three new guys in the starting lineup."

Bryant (South Carolina), Tyler Harris (Memphis) and Selton Miguel (Kansas State) each started on Monday night after transferring to USF this past offseason.

The Bulls and Redhawks went into the locker room at halftime knotted at 30-30. A pair of baskets by Harris and a three-pointer by Bryant gave USF an early 37-30 edge in the second half. USF continued to lead for the next 10 minutes until SEMO pulled in front, 41-40, at the 9:35 mark.

The Bulls went 9-for-19 from the free throw line and 4-for-19 from beyond the arc in the loss. SEMO owned the rebounding edge, 39-38, including 11 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second-chance points.

Notable

• Bryant entered the season opener with 973 career points during his four years at South Carolina and is now just eight points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career.
• Russel Tchewa (Douala, Cameroon) led all players with nine rebounds on the night.
• Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) recorded six points, six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
• Freshman Ryan Conwell (Indianapolis, Ind.) logged a team-high 21 minutes off the bench and registered nine points and three rebounds.

Up Next

The Bulls travel to No. 15 Auburn on Friday night in a rematch against the Tigers that went down to the wire with a 58-52 Auburn win last season in Tampa. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET.

Tickets are on sale now. Fans are encouraged to visit USFBullsTix.com of 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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