Published Dec 2, 2023
Bulls fall in battle against Minutemen 66-56
Staff Reports
Special to Bulls Insider

AMHERST, Ma.– The University of South Florida men’s basketball team stayed on the road for a matchup with UMass on Saturday. Selton Miguel led South Florida with 16 points, but the Bulls (2-4) fell to the Minutemen (4-1) 66-56.

The Bulls came out of the gates strong and a defensive rebound by Sam Hines Jr. led to a fastbreak slam for Chris Youngblood for the game's first points.

After the opening basket, the game was a back-and-forth battle. UMass held an 11-9 lead with 11:35 left in the opening stanza. The two sides continued to trade baskets until the game was tied 16-16 with 8:03 left in the half.

The Minutemen outscored the Bulls 14-7 to close out the half and take a 30-23 lead at the break.


UMass scored the first points of the second half and went on an 8-4 run to take a 38-27 lead with 15:32 left in regulation. USF and UMass traded baskets over the next four minutes of play as the Minutemen held a 45-35 lead at the under-12 media.

The Minutemen extended their lead to 13, 49-36, with 7:30 left in regulation. The game turned into a free-throw contest over the next 2 minutes that saw USF outscore UMass 8-2 during that stretch. South Florida closed the deficit to 51-44 with 6:01 left to play.

UMass went on a 9-2 run and extended its lead to 14, 60-46, with just over three minutes left in regulation. The Bulls went on a 6-3 run on back-to-back 3-pointers by Miguel and cut the deficit to 63-52 with 1:20 left to play. USF outscored UMass 4-3 for the final 1:20 but fell 66-65.

Notables

· Selton Miguel tied for a team-high 16 points on 4-of-5 from 3-point range. His four 3-pointers tied a career-high.

· Selton Miguel is the first USF player to lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists since Jamir Chaplin did it against Houston on January 5, 2022.

· The South Florida bench has outscored the opponent’s bench in every game this season, including 35-14 tonight.

Next Up

The Bulls return to action on Saturday, December 9, for the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Florida. South Florida battles Florida State at 1:30 p.m.