TAMPA (December 22, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (7-6) wrapped up a three-game homestand and non-conference play on Thursday night at the Yuengling Center with a 92-73 victory over NJIT (2-10). South Florida heads into conference play next week on a five-game winning streak with wins in seven its of last eight games overall.

Thursday's 92 points are a new season high and the Bulls are on their first five-game win streak since 2019. USF is averaging 75.6 points over its last seven wins.

Selton Miguel scored a career-high 23 points on Thursday while dishing out four assists. Tyler Harris matched his season high with 22 points, and tallied new season highs in three-pointers (6) and assists (6). Russel Tchewa logged his first double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-best 12 rebounds.

"We had a lot of guys contribute tonight, and played really good complimentary basketball," said head coach Brian Gregory. "This is one of the hardest games of the season to play with the holiday break right around the corner, but I was proud of our team's effort."

That effort was on full display late in the first half when Serrel Smith Jr. chased down a loose ball from one end of the court to the other and found Harris for a wide-open triple.

"That play by Serrel showed me our guys were ready to play the right way tonight," Gregory added.

USF took a 49-40 lead into halftime and closed the opening frame going 9-for-13 from the field over the final seven minutes. That effort helped the Bulls stay in front of the red-hot shooting Highlanders as both teams shot over 50 percent in the opening half. NJIT opened the game going 7-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from downtown over the first eight minutes of action.

The Bulls used a 15-0 run in the second half to pull away and ultimately secure the win.

A three-pointer by Jamir Chaplin sparked the run at the 17:42 mark and Harris connected from downtown with 12:57 left to play to make it a 66-42 affair.

Notable

• Thursday was the first time USF had two players scored 20 points in the same game since April 3, 2019 (Laquincy Rideau & David Collins).
• USF shot 50 percent of better in both halves for the first time since February 19, 2019 vs. Florida College.
• The Bulls improve to 44-14 when scoring 70 or more points under Coach Gregory
• USF's 19 assists are the second-most this season and the Bulls are averaging over 16 assists per game during their five-game winning streak.
• Miguel's 10 made field goals are also a new career high.
• Tchewa played 30 minutes, but needed just 22 minutes of game play to log his fourth career double-double.
• The Bulls shot a season-high 54.5% from the field and 42.9% (second-best) from beyond the arc.

Up Next

The Bulls head to Memphis on Thursday, December 29 to open AAC play against the Tigers at 8 p.m. ET.      

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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