TAMPA (January 8, 2023) – Sam Hines Jr. and Russel Tchewa both turned in double-doubles on Sunday afternoon at the Yuengling Center, but it wasn't enough as the University of South Florida Bulls fell to the Wichita State Shockers, 70-66.

South Florida drops to 7-9 (0-3 AAC) with the loss, while Wichita State improves to 8-8 (1-3 AAC) with its first conference win.

Coming off a career-best 20 points on Wednesday, Tchewa tallied a game-high 19 points with 10 rebounds for his sixth career double-double, second in as many games and third in the last four outings. Hines Jr. turned in his first double-double since playing at Denver in 2020-21 with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Sunday was USF's fifth loss this season by four or fewer points.

"It's frustrating," said head coach Brian Gregory. "To be right there again, and we couldn't finish it. It was a slow and physical start to the game, but we really picked it up and did a lot of good things late in the first and early on in the second. But, we got out of sorts for a long stretch on offense, and we stopped defending with discipline, and started fouling. The fouls in the second half are concerning as it's been an issue in all three of these close conference losses. We have to fix that and find a way to finish."

After a plotting start to the contest, the Bulls picked things up over the final six minutes of the opening half. Tyler Harris knocked down a three-pointer to give USF its first lead at the 5:42 mark, 25-23, since the opening possession.

That sparked a 7-0 USF run, which included another highlight reel windmill dunk by Keyshawn Bryant, after he went coast-to-coast with a steal, and ultimately saw the Bulls go on a 14-5 run to close out the half and carry a 34-28 lead into the break.

Eight-unanswered points by the Bulls extended the USF lead to 42-28, its largest of the game, coming out of halftime with 17:41 on the clock.

The Bulls carried a double-digit lead into the midway point of the second half, but the Shockers refused to go away. A seven-point WSU run made it a 54-49 affair with 7:49 left to play and the visiting team was in the bonus from there out which allowed them to continue to chip away.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Wichita State's Melvion Flanagan gave the Shockers the lead for good with 3:47 left to play.

A late basket by Hines Jr. cut the WSU lead to 68-66 with 17 seconds remaining, and after the Shockers went 1-for-2 from the free throw line, the Bulls had a chance to tie the game with 16 seconds left on the clock, but were unable to knock down their attempt.

Notable

• After putting together a four-game home winning streak, the Bulls have dropped two straight in Tampa.
• USF's nine losses are by an average of 5.6 points per game this season.
• Bryant and Selton Miguel were each in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in their past seven games, respectively.
• Jake Boggs returned to action for the first time since an injury on December 12th at Northern Iowa.
• WSU shot 47 percent from the field in the second half (4-7 from downtown), compared to a 37 percent mark (1-9 from downtown) by USF.
• The Bulls out-rebounded the Shockers, 47-37, including 18 offensive boards – matching their second-high output of the season.

Up Next

The Bulls open a two-game road trip at No. 2 Houston on Wednesday, January 11 at 8 p.m. ET. USF will then travel to ECU on Sunday, January 15.       

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.

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