MEMHIS, Tenn. (December 29, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (7-7, 0-1 AAC) had their five-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night at the FedExForum as the Memphis Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) came from behind late in the second half for a 93-86 victory on their home court.

Serrel Smith Jr. matched a career high with 21 points off the bench and Memphis native Tyler Harris scored all 17 of his points in the second half of action.

The last two meetings in Memphis between the Bulls and Tigers were decided by a combined three points, and Thursday's tilt was no different in a back-and forth battle.

The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 46-46 while Smith Jr. knocked down each of his first seven shots, including five from beyond the arc, which saw USF knot the score again in the second half, 54-54, at the 15:53 mark.

An 11-0 run for the Bulls made it a 67-57 affair with 11:47 left on the clock, but the Tigers continued to chip away, and eventually closed the game on a 19-5 run over the final four minutes of play.

"Give our guys a lot of credit. Memphis got out to a good start and we didn't buckle in the first half," said head coach Brian Gregory. "Their pressure late forced a lot of turnovers and made the difference. Playing on the road is always tough, and we didn't execute well enough late to finish it. We missed too many shots at the rim, and we just didn't do it overall for 40 minutes tonight. We did a lot of good things for 36 minutes. We'll learn from this. We need to look back and understand what we did wrong and correct it."

South Florida entered the game averaging less than 12 turnovers per game, but finished Thursday's contest with a season-high 20, including 12 in the second half.

Memphis built a 21-12 lead in the first half, but USF weathered the storm to knot the score at halftime. Smith Jr. scored 16 of his 21 in the first half on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the field (4-for-4 from downtown).

The Tigers erased a seven-point USF advantage, 81-74, at the 4:21 mark with eight unanswered points to regain the lead for good with 2:22 left to play.  

Notable

• Keyshawn Bryant gave off the bench with 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
• Smith Jr. tallied 21 points in just 18 minutes of action.
• Russel Tchewa finished with a team-best 11 rebounds, followed by Jamir Chaplin with nine.
• Thursday was USF's first loss this season when scoring at least 70 points.
• The Bulls are averaging 75.8 points per game over their past nine outings (7-2 record).

Up Next

The Bulls return home to open a two-game homestand beginning with Temple on January 4 at 7 p.m. inside 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.

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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