TAMPA (March 4, 2022) – Playing in their final home game of the 2021-22 season, the University of South Florida Bulls took the University of Memphis to the wire, cutting their deficit to just four points with 12 seconds remaining by converting on seven straight field goals, but the Tigers held on for a 73-64 victory on Thursday night at the Yuengling Center.

Corey Walker Jr. (Jacksonville) turned in his first career double-double for South Florida (8-21, 3-14 AAC). The freshman forward logged a career-high 12 points and matched career highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (4).

Memphis improves to 18-9 (12-5 AAC) with the road win.

"Memphis is a team I believe is an NCAA tournament team. They are talented, experienced, and they are playing really well together right now," said USF head coach Brian Gregory. "Give our guys credit though for battling and never letting up, especially down the stretch."

The Tigers claimed their largest lead of the night, a 15-point edge, with 2:39 left to play in the game, 61-46. Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) and Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.) had just fouled out of the game at that point, but the Bulls collectively rallied to make a late surge.

South Florida went on an 8-0 run with three points from Walker Jr. and five from Russel Tchewa (Douala, Cameroon) to make it a 61-54 affair with 59 seconds left on the clock. The Tigers looked to salt the game away at the free throw line, but saw Caleb Murphy (Youngstown, Ohio) poured in two straight buckets and Serrel Smith Jr. (St. Petersburg) drained a pair of three-pointers to make it a 68-64 contest with 12 seconds remaining.

Ultimately, Memphis was able to seal the game at the charity stripe.

"We're playing our best basketball of the year over the past seven to eight games," Gregory added. "We just have to find a way to make one or two more shots in those key situations to turn the tide in some of these close games. We've given ourselves a chance to win by continuing to play great, and even more physical defense lately. Turnovers hurt us today, and that was the difference, but I thought we did a great job on the glass against a great rebounding team."

The Bulls committing 16 turnovers on Thursday, compared to just six by Memphis, which translated into a 21-4 differential in points off of turnovers.

Greene scored seven points and tallied one assist with one steal in his final home game after his first season at USF.

"Javon's given us everything he's got from day one," Gregory said. "He brings it every day, he has a positive attitude, and he's just outstanding on the defensive end. I love his work ethic and what he's brought to this team."  

Notable

• Tchewa scored in double digits for the fourth straight game and is averaging 14.25 points over that span.
• Murphy matched a career high with eight assists and scored 11 points on the night.
• The Bulls out-rebounded the Tigers, 37-32, including 10 offensive boards.
• USF shot 53.33 percent (16-30) in the second half of Thursday's game.

Up Next

The Bulls conclude the regular season on Sunday at Temple with a 2 p.m. tipoff.

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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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