GREENVILLE, N.C. (February 23, 2022) – Sophomore center Russel Tchewa (Douala, Cameroon) turned in his second double-double of the season with a career high 18 points for the University of South Florida (7-20, 2-13 AAC) on Wednesday night, but the Bulls came up just short in a 64-60 setback at ECU (14-13, 5-10 AAC).

Tchewa is averaging 11.9 points over his last eight games and 7.8 rebounds over the last four.

The Pirates outlasted the Bulls in another tightly contested game, 65-57, just six days ago in Tampa. Wednesday's rematch saw 11 lead changes and four ties on the scoreboard.

South Florida won the rebounding battle, 43-34, including 15 offensive boards, but was hurt by turnovers late in the game and another strong effort by ECU from the free throw line.

The Pirates went 27-38 from the charity stripe, compared to a 7-13 mark by the Bulls.

"Turnovers down the stretch really hurt us," said head coach Brian Gregory after the game. "We had some undisciplined fouls as well that allowed them to get to the free throw line, and credit ECU for knocking down those opportunities."

A three-pointer by Jake Boggs (Charlotte, N.C.) gave USF a 51-50 lead midway through the second half before the Bulls' offense went cold over the final 10 minutes. USF scored just three points after Boggs' triple at the 10:33 mark and went without a field goal until Tchewa picked up an offensive rebound and a layup with 1:29 left to play.

The Bulls also committed five turnovers over the final six minutes and ended the game with 16 total miscues.

A put-back dunk by Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) closed the first half and slashed the ECU lead to 35-34 to set up the back-and-forth second half. Walker Jr. finished the game with 10 points and eight rebounds.

"What really stood out to me tonight was the fight we showed on the road at this point of the season," Gregory added. "It's uncommon for teams, and individual players, to continue to work and show up when the results haven't been there. But, I've seen it from this group. And, you're starting to see the emergence of some of the talented young players on this roster."

Notable

• Tchewa matched his career high with 10 rebounds.
• Walker Jr. also recorded two blocks, two steals and an assist.
• Caleb Murphy (Youngstown, Ohio) finished with 11 points, two steals, two rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.) dished out a team-high four assists.
• The Bulls made nine more field goals than ECU in the game, despite the final outcome.

Up Next

The Bulls wrap up their current two-game road trip at Cincinnati on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

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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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