The USF men’s basketball team drops their fourth game in a row, losing to FIU by a 65-53 score.
The Bulls played FIU close throughout the first half, taking a 25-24 lead into halftime. That marked the third game in their four game losing streak where they blew a halftime lead.
Despite trailing at halftime, the Panthers came out in the second half, ready to play. FIU guard, Eric Lockette, made a layup early in the half to give FIU the lead, which they would never give back. Lockette would go on to score 18 points in the game with 11 rebounds.
Also having a big night for FIU was guard, Brian Beard, Jr. Beard scored 28 points with five rebounds and six assists. The other Panther in double-digit scoring was, Hassan Hussein, who scored 13.
Terrible shooting doomed the Bulls, who had just two players in double-digit scoring, shooting just 33% from the field and 25% beyond the arc. It’s a bad night when forward, Isaiah Manderson, leads the team in scoring with just 12 points. The other player in double digits was guard, Stephan Jiggets, who had ten. Tulio Da Silva had a good night on the boards, bringing down an impressive 17 rebounds.
FIU won the game in the paint, 34-28, and on fast break scoring, 19-5. They also shot better, 44%, and had seven less turnovers than the Bulls.
The Panthers improve to 5-4 on the season. They’ll go from the University of South Florida to the University of North Florida on 12/13.
The Bulls slip to 4-6 and will host Bethune-Cookman on Thursday night in hopes to end their four game skid. That game can be seen on ESPN3.
