TULSA, Okla. (February 15, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (11-15, 4-9 AAC) produced a historic and dominant effort on Wednesday night with a 96-69 victory at the University of Tulsa (5-20, 1-13 AAC). It marked South Florida's first win over Tulsa in program history and the Bulls' 96 points are the program's most ever in an American Athletic Conference game.

Russel Tchewa, returning from an injury that sidelined him last Saturday, scored a career-high 21 points, falling just short of his fourth consecutive double-double (eight rebounds). Tyler Harris dished out a career-high 10 assists to record his first career double-double to go along with 10 points.

"The offense tonight obviously jumps out, but we've talked about how improved we are offensively this season. What I was really pleased with was our defensive effort tonight, especially in the second half," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We shared the ball extremely well on offense and it was a total team effort. I'm proud of our guys for coming on the road and taking care of business in a place we've never won before."

With the game tied 24-24 at the 11:09 mark of the first half, USF closed the period outscoring Tulsa, 26-13, for a 50-37 halftime lead.

The offense continued to hum after the break and the Bulls built a 21-point lead, 70-49, on a three-pointer by Harris with 12:43 on the clock.

The lead swelled to 83-54 at the 8:48 mark on a layup by Selton Miguel that saw the Bulls knock down six straight field goals. USF then built a 31-point lead with 6:36 left to play.

South Florida won the game's opening tip and raced out to a 9-0 lead with the first two buckets by Jamir Chaplin, a three-pointer by freshman Ryan Conwell and a basket from Tchewa.

Tulsa answered in a hurry and tied the game, 14-14, at the first media timeout with 15:05 on the clock. The Golden Hurricane then pulled in front, 17-14, on their next possession with a three-pointer. The home team opened the game 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.

A triple by Miguel put USF back in front, 24-22, and another two possessions later made it a 27-24 game at the 10:32 mark. The Bulls proceeded onto a 15-3 run that saw Miguel knock down his third three-pointer in the stretch for a 36-25 lead with 7:55 left in the first half. USF eventually scored 13 unanswered points (19-3 run) and built a 40-25 advantage at the 6:55 mark.

The Bulls shot 58 percent in the opening half and went to the locker room with a 50-37 lead. Harris scored only two points in the first half, but dished out six of his 10 assists on the night.

Notable

• The Bulls were previously 0-12 all-time against Tulsa.
• USF's 50 points in the first half was its first 50-point effort in any half of an AAC game since January 2, 2019 vs. UConn (51 points/second half).
• The 27-point margin of victory is USF's second-largest in an AAC game, the fourth-largest margin of victory in any road game in program history, and the fifth-largest in any conference game.
• Harris' double-double with points and assists was the first such for a Bull since Laquincy Rideau (January 26, 2019).
• Harris' 10 assists tie the most by any USF player in an AAC contest.
• Harris needs 12 more three-pointers to set a new USF single-season record (88 – Derrick Sharp, 1991-92).
• Keyshawn Bryant also returned to action after missing last Saturday's game and tallied 16 points with seven rebounds.
• Miguel also added 16 points for the Bulls.
• Mark Calleja drained a three-pointer late in the game for the Bulls for his first points of the season and Kenu Louissaint registered his first career steal in the final minutes.

Up Next

The Bulls return home to the Yuengling Center in Tampa to host Tulane on Saturday, February 18 at 8 p.m.

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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