CINCINNATI, Ohio (February 26, 2022) – Sophomore center Russel Tchewa (Douala, Cameroon) drained a hook shot in the lane as time expired Saturday night to give the University South Florida Bulls (8-20, 3-13 AAC) a 56-54 road victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats (17-12, 7-9 AAC).

The game-winning basket snapped a season-long six game skid for South Florida.

"I'm just so proud of this team," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We played with toughness, grit and intensity for 40 minutes. We've played well enough and competed in the last seven games now, but came up just a play or two short. Lesser players wouldn't keep coming back to the table to fight when the results haven't been there, but this is an uncommon group, who continues to show up and collectively has a desire as a team to get better."

Neither team led by more than seven points throughout the night in a tightly-contested affair from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

The Bulls led by as many as five points on two occasions in the first half that saw the Bearcats take a 27-25 lead into the break. Cincinnati led by seven at the 12:40 mark of the second half only to see the tenacious Bulls answer with a 10-1 run to claim a 43-41 edge on a layup by Ohio native Caleb Murphy (Youngstown) with 8:22 left to play.

Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) knocked down a pair of three-pointers during USF's run to take the lead.

South Florida and Cincinnati traded the lead two more times before Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) drilled a three-pointer from the corner to give the Bulls a 54-50 edge with 2:22 on the clock.

The Bearcats knotted the score once more, 54-54, with 1:04 remaining to set up Tchewa's game-winner.

With nine seconds left in regulation, Chaplin inbounded the ball to Walker Jr., who found Tchewa streaking into the lane with a pass through a narrow window and the celebration ensued as the 7-footer's shot hit nothing but net at the buzzer.

Tchewa finished the night with 13 points, five rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot. Murphy scored six of his 10 points for the Bulls in the second half. Walker Jr. pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points, two assists, two steals and a block. True freshman Trey Moss (Windermere) tallied career highs in points (6) and rebounds (5).

"Up and down the roster, it took everyone tonight," Gregory added. "Caleb got going when we needed him, Russ was tremendous again, Corey continues to show just how talented he is, and we don't win that game without Trey playing the way he did in the first half."

Defensively, Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.) held David DeJulius to just seven points on 2-10 shooting from the field. The Cincinnati guard entered the game as the Bearcats' leading scorer (14.45 ppg) and scored 24 against USF in their last meeting.

"Javon took on that challenge, and he took it personally. He did an unbelievable job tonight against a really skilled offensive player," noted Gregory.

Notable

• Chaplin returned to action on Saturday after missing the past four games and scored five points.
• The Bulls forced eight Cincinnati turnovers and converted those into 10 points while the Bearcats forced nine USF turnovers for only three points.
• South Florida has won two straight matchups with the Bearcats in Cincinnati.

Up Next

The Bulls return to Tampa for their final home game of the season on Thursday, March 3 against Memphis. Senior Night will tip off at 9 p.m. and air on ESPNU.

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 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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