The USF men’s basketball team fell to Memphis Wednesday night, 86-74. The Tigers led most of the game, holding off late charges by USF to secure a comfortable win.
The two teams played close in the first eight minutes of the game, trading the lead several times. Memphis would outscore the Bulls, 22-14 down the stretch to take a ten point, 42-32 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, the Tigers broke loose, going on a 12-2 run to go up by 19 with 14 minutes to remaining in the game. USF did fight their way back, getting within nine points with 2:01 on the clock, but Memphis held of the charge to win comfortably, 86-74.
Memphis guard, Jeremiah Martin, who was playing injured, had a very good game, scoring 25 points with nine assists. Martin was backed up by Kyvon Davenport and Jamal Johnson, who scored 18 apiece. Davenport also pulled down 11 rebounds.
For the struggling Bulls, freshman guard, David Collins continues to shine. Collins eventually fouled out with just under four minutes in the game, but not before scoring 21 points, going 10-11 at the free throw line. The 21 point game for Collins is a career high for him. Four other Bulls scored in double digits. Payton Banks scored 16, Justin Brown had 13, Terrence Samuel a dozen, and Stephan Jiggetts knocked down ten points. As a team, the Bulls shot just 40% from the field, but were scored a very impressive 92% at the line.
The Tigers will take their 14-8 (5-4) record to Greenville on Saturday to visit ECU. The Bulls fall to 8-15 (1-8) and will host the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa on Sunday at 1 PM.