TAMPA, Fla. – Working back from a slow start, the UTSA men’s basketball team (8-13, 2-6 AAC) couldn’t deliver the shots to keep pace with South Florida’s (13-5, 6-1 AAC) perimeter attack on Saturday afternoon at the Yuengling Center, as the Bulls fired up over 60 percent of their second-half shots beyond the arc. South Florida extended its halftime lead throughout the second half before the Roadrunners chipped away, but back-and-forth scoring across the final seven minutes led to an 89-72 win for the Bulls.
Defense ruled the early going, as two minutes elapsed without a score, and nearly three before either squad made a field goal. However, once the shots started to fall, South Florida established its approach immediately, dropping their first two from long range to create an 8-4 cushion. Four of the first five USF scores came from distance, while UTSA struggled from the perimeter in the first half, missing the first six threes before Chandler Cuthrell splashed a triple from the corner to jumpstart the UTSA offense with 11:18 remaining in the half. UTSA proceeded to score on four consecutive possessions and chip the deficit down to eight. Then, just beyond the four-minute mark, the Roadrunners broke into a 9-3 run, bookended by four PJ Carter free throws, that trimmed the USF lead to just six points. However, the offense stalled as South Florida reeled of eight unanswered to take a 44-30 halftime lead.
The Bulls collected seven consecutive scores across a six-minute stretch in the second half, building out a game-high 24-point lead – fueled by five threes in the grouping. Though the Roadrunners rallied for a 10-3 run, they couldn’t trim the deficit far enough, as the teams traded scores for the final seven minutes of the half. UTSA put up the final two scores in the closing moments, and the clock expired with an 89-72 South Florida win.
After early perimeter struggles, the Roadrunners finished with 10 threes – six in the second half, while the Bulls logged 18 from long range as the focus of more than half their shooting on the afternoon.
Cuthrell and Massal Diouf sparked UTSA multiple times, with Cuthrell logging six points and Diouf collecting eight points alongside a team-high six rebounds. Meanwhile, Jordan Ivy-Curry broke off the biggest offensive chunks for UTSA, scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, going 8-for-16 with 5-of-9 threes falling, adding in five rebounds as well. Christian Tucker recorded six assists and eight points.
Up Next
With eight conference games in the book, the Roadrunners welcome their first BYE date of the AAC slate, skipping midweek and moving ahead to the first rematch date of the league slate. UTSA will next take the floor on Saturday, Feb. 3 against Rice at the Convocation Center. The Roadrunners logged an 89-82 overtime victory on the Owls Houston on Jan. 6 in the last meeting.
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