It was Senior Day at the Yuengling Center Sunday afternoon, and the USF Bulls honored their three seniors: Jamille Reynolds, Brandon Stroud, and Quincy Ademokoya.
The last time these two teams met, the Bulls lost badly against FAU, 94-72, in Boca Raton. USF was looking to get revenge but the pomp and circumstance were not enough for the Bulls to snap their two-game losing streak. They fell to the FAU Owls 69-63 in the final home game of the season. The Bulls have now lost three in a row with a trip to No. 18 Memphis on the horizon next week.
The Bulls’ shooting woes continued. They were as cold as ice as they finished the game shooting 32% (21/65) from the field and 24% (5/21) from three-point range. The Bulls have lost three out of their last four games with one game left in the regular season.
USF dug themselves a big hole that they could not get themselves out of. To start the game, they shot 2/10 from the field and were 0/2 from three-point range as the Owls built a big lead, leading at the half 34-25. Jayden Reid led the way for USF with nine points in the first half as the Bulls shot 20 percent (7/34) from the field and 18 percent (2/11) from three-point range.
The Bulls’ cold shooting continued in the second half as the shots would not drop as FAU raced to a 44-30 lead at the 16:12 mark of the second half. The Owls never looked back. Reid led all scorers for the Bulls on the afternoon with 16 points, while CJ Brown and Kobe Knox had 12 a piece.
Baba Miller led the way for FAU with 17 points and eight rebounds while Kaleb Glenn added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Not only were the Bulls out-shot by FAU, but they were also out-rebounded by the Owls 45-37. Shooting seems to have been a struggle for the team this season, and Sunday was no exception. Shooting 32% is not going to win you many games.
USF Coach Ben Fletcher addressed the shooting woes in his post-game press conference and said they work on it every day.
“It’s beyond frustrating. We chart it most days. We’ve had three really good days of shooting at a really high level. And to see us not come out, it’s really disappointing. We’re gonna keep working and put our best foot forward and see if we can’t put a run together in these last couple weeks.”
With just one game left this week before the conference tournament, the Bulls should have plenty of time to correct their shooting woes.
Jayden Reid was asked about the upcoming AAC tournament, and he feels that the Bulls can play with anyone on any given night. All you have to do is win four games; he believes that USF can do that.
“Obviously we’ve dropped some games in conference play, but when we get to the tournament it’s zero zero. As long as we can put a stretch together there, all it takes is four games. All you need to do is win one game at a time.”
The Bulls are now 13-17 on the season and 6-11 in conference play. FAU, meanwhile, is now 16-13 on the season and 9-7 in the conference.