DALLAS, Texas (January 29, 2023) – The University of South Florida trailed by 19 points early in the second half at SMU on Sunday afternoon, and cut its deficit to just two points with less than 30 seconds left to play, but the Mustangs denied the Bulls' comeback bid, 82-80.

It was the second straight game that USF trailed on the road by double digits, and had a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession, but fell short. Seven of the Bulls' 13 losses this season have come by four points or fewer.

South Florida falls to 9-13 (2-7 AAC) while SMU improves to 8-14 (3-6 AAC).

Tyler Harris scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half of Sunday's contest. Russel Tchewa finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

"SMU came out and shot the ball extremely well today, so give them credit. We're scoring the ball and rebounding well, but we're just not defending well enough to win games right now," said head coach Brian Gregory. "These games have been right there for us, but right now we're not being physical enough on the defensive end or guarding the basketball well enough. The turnovers hurt us in the first half as well, and it's the little details here and there that will result in the outcomes being more favorable."  

The Mustangs led wire-to-wire in the tilt by shooting 51 percent from the field (44 percent from downtown), and built a 45-33 halftime lead with a torrid 56 percent (17-30) effort in the first half, including a 46 percent clip (6-13) from three-point land.   

SMU came out of halftime still scorching and scored seven-unanswered points for the largest lead of the day, 52-33, before Tyler Harris got hot himself. Harris willed the Bulls back to within 10 points with three straight triples to make it a 52-42 affair at the 16:13 mark.

The Bulls and Mustangs continued to trade buckets before a stretch that saw USF make a move with six makes in seven attempts to cut the home team's lead to 70-64 with 7:49 on the clock.

A slashing layup by Harris cut the deficit to five points, 76-71, with 4:47 left to play, but that was as close as the Bulls would get until a frantic final minute. Serrel Smith Jr. nailed a triple with 1:04 on the clock to make it an 80-76 game, and following an SMU turnover, Corey Walker Jr. flushed a dunk at the other end to make it a two-point game with 26.9 seconds to go.

A pair of misses at the free throw line by the Mustangs kept the door open for USF in a two-point affair, and the Bulls got the ball back again with 3.8 seconds remaining, but could not convert to win or send the game to overtime.

Jamir Chaplin got the USF offense going early in the game with a three-pointer and five points in the opening five minutes of play. The Bulls were able to tie the score on four occasions, but SMU maintained a lead by shooting 70 percent from the field (4-5 from downtown) to start the contest. The Mustangs then streaked out to a nine-point run for a 20-11 advantage with 13:57 on the clock, and externed their lead to double digits, 22-12, on their next possession.

Selton Miguel cut the Bulls' deficit to five points, 27-22, with a three-pointer at the 8:58 mark, but the Mustangs continued to shoot the lights out, and built their lead back to 38-26 less than three minutes later.

SMU led by as many as 15 with less than five minutes remaining in the half, and took a 45-33 lead into the break.

SMU's impressive shooting effort didn't allow for many rebounds, but the Bulls did lead in that category over the first 20 minutes, 20-14, including eight offensive boards which translated into 11 second-chance points.

Tchewa paced USF in the opening half with 10 points (5-5 from the field) and five rebounds.

Notable

• Harris went 5-for-10 from downtown and tallied a career-high seven rebounds.
• Harris' 20-point effort in the second half was his second such output this season after becoming the first USF player to do so since Laquincy Rideau (4/3/19) when he did it two games ago against UCF.
• Harris needs eight more three-pointers to set a new AAC career record (265 – Christian Vital, UConn, 2016-20); 24 more to set a new USF single-season record (88 – Derrick Sharp, 1991-92).
• Smith Jr. finished the game with 12points, his most since netting a career-high 21 at Memphis on December 29th.
• Walker Jr. provided a spark for the Bulls off the bench once again with season highs in points (9) and rebounds (9) for the second straight game.

Up Next

The Bulls return home to host ECU on Wednesday, February 1 at 7 p.m. That game is set as USF's Equality & Inclusion Game on the first day of Black History Month, and will feature a special recognition and the return of Arthur Jones (1971-74). Jones was the first African-American student-athlete at the University of South Florida.

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.

– #GoBulls –