TAMPA –

The University of South Florida Bulls fall to the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane by a score of 56-48 on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls overcame a historic first half scoring low to make the game competitive in the second half.

The Bulls lead for the first few minutes of the first half before a layup by Elijah Joiner gave Tulsa a 4-3 lead with under 16 minutes to go in the period. From that point on, it Tulsa was in control, building a double-digit lead, 17-7, with 6:46 before halftime. By the time the buzzer sounded, the Bulls were trailing by 14, 25-11, a new record low for USF scoring in a half (since at least 2002).

Early in the second half, it looked as if the Tulsa would continue to pull way, quickly building a 14 point lead by 16:35. But, the Bulls charged back with a 10-0 run to get within four, 30-26. Four would be as close as USF would get to the Golden Hurricane, however, with Tulsa pulling away each time the Bulls got within four.

David Collins was the leading scorer for the Bulls, with 14 points and five rebounds. Laquincy Rideau and Justin Brown scored ten apiece, with Rideau adding five assists to the stat sheet.

For the Golden Hurricane, it was Brandon Rachal who carried the load, scoring 18 points with six rebounds. The only other Tulsa player in double-digits was Lawson Korita, who finished with ten points and six rebounds.

Tulsa beat the Bulls with points off of turnovers, 20-9, and the free throw line, 23-11.

After the game, head coach Brian Gregory met with the media. He opened his press conference with a statement about Tulsa.

“They do a good job of not beating themselves,” said Gregory. “They figure out ways to win and they’ve done that all year long, especially in league play.”

Reflecting on his own team’s performance, Gregory said, “disappointed in our ability to take care of the ball. 18 turnovers just puts you in a tough spot. You wouldn’t think that we actually shot better from the field than they did. When you have 18 empty possessions it’s just going to be hard to be successful. And when you get outscored by 12 at the free throw line, it’s almost impossible.”

Tulsa improves to 17-8 and will visit #20 Houston on Wednesday. That game will be televised on ESPNU.

The Bulls fall to 11-14 (4-8) and will look to rebound against Wichita State on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 PM EST, with television coverage on CBS Sports Network.