TAMPA (February 17, 2022) – For the second straight game, Serrel Smith Jr. (St. Petersburg) poured in a season high with 18 points for the University of South Florida (7-18, 2-11 AAC), but it wasn't enough in a 65-57 setback to ECU (13-12, 4-9 AAC) on Thursday night at the Yuengling Center.
It was a one-point South Florida deficit at halftime, 29-28, and the Bulls cut a 10-point ECU lead down to four with 28 seconds left to play before the Pirates salted the game away at the free throw line.
"We gave them too many free baskets at the free throw line in the second half with some undisciplined fouls," said head coach Brian Gregory. "Give them credit for making the most of those chances. I thought we competed at a high level again though tonight, and were able to keep ourselves in the game. We just weren't able to finish. The effort has been there, but we need the production to follow."
The game featured seven lead changes and seven ties on the scoreboard as USF battled with the Pirates wire-to-wire. The Bulls forced 17 ECU turnovers and pulled down 11 offensive rebounds, but only scored 11 points off those turnovers and recorded six second-chance points.
Smith Jr. scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half on 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc and finished the night with a career-best five triples.
"Serrel has been consistently putting in the work all season, coming in every morning to shoot, and it's good to see the results starting to come for him," Gregory added. "It wasn't just his scoring the other night that earned him the start, but the way he hustled and competed. He had a mature approach tonight and I was pleased with his shot selection."
For the second straight game, and third time this season, USF knocked down eight three-pointers, but show only 20 percent (2-10) from downtown in the second half. Meanwhile, ECU shot 50 percent (9-18) from the field in the second half and went 15-18 from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes.
Notable
- Four Pirates scored in double digits while Smith Jr. was the lone player to do so for USF.
- Smith Jr. is averaging 17.5 points over his last two games on 9-16 shooting from downtown.
- Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) recorded a team-best six rebounds to go along with five points, three assists and two steals.
- Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.) tallied eight points with four steals and two assists.
Up Next
The Bulls conclude their current homestand and wrap up a stretch of six games in 13 days on Saturday afternoon against Tulsa. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. in Tampa.
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About USF Men's Basketball
The USF men's basketball team is led by head coach Brian Gregory, who enters his fifth season in 2021-22. 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.
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