The USF Bulls opened up conference play Sunday afternoon in front of a disappointing crowd of 3397 at the Yuengling Center and lost to the UAB Blazers 109-106 in double overtime.
Despite a record-setting day by Wes Enis, it was not enough to carry the Bulls to victory as they dropped their first home game of the season to fall to 8-6 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
It was a slow start for the Bulls as they missed their first four shots before Enis hit a three-pointer to give USF an early 3-2 lead at the 17:50 mark of the first half. That would be the first of 10 three pointers for Enis as he would set the school record for three point shots made with a career-high 36 points.
Neither team could establish any offensive flow in the first half, with constant whistles interrupting nearly every trip down the floor. The game would end with total of 52 fouls called, split evenly between the two teams.
The Bulls maintained a slim lead throughout the first half with their largest lead being 12-5 at the 14:58 mark of the first half. A Quaran Macpherson three point shot put UAB in the lead at the 5:16 mark — 30-28 — their first lead since they led 2-0.
Both teams struggled from the free-throw line in the first half with USF going 4-of-9 while UAB went 9-of-15. The Bulls would take a 38-36 lead into the locker room. Enis, who has been out since the Alabama game, lead all scorers with 13 points in the first half, while Izaiyah Nelson added 11 for the Bulls.
The two teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the second half until Joe Pinion nailed a three point shot, his first points of the game to give the Bulls a five point lead with 17:40 to play in the game. The Bulls would increase the lead to 10 on a CJ Brown basket, but UAB would and kept clawing their way back in the game.
The Bulls had an 11 point lead with under five minutes to play, but the Blazers stormed back to tie it up to force overtime. In the first overtime, neither team led by more than three points. In the second overtime, the Bulls never took the lead, as the Blazers scored first to go up 100-98 and never trailed again, winning 109-106.
“Yeah, I think it was just our defense,” Enis said when asked about the factors behind the blown lead. “When our defense was clicking, no one could score on us. We just didn’t get stops.”
USF head coach Brian Hodgson said that there were many issues that contributed to the tough loss. “Just costly, costly mistakes down the stretch on sides of the ball. Our guards didn’t do a very good job containing the basketball. I think our bigs didn’t do a very good job of sprinting back and showing the presence at the rim. We just allowed them to get to the rim time and time again.
There were some positives in the loss, though. “You know we had multiple guys that rebounded the basketball well,” Hodgson said. “Wes Enis shot the ball well. Isaiah Nelson, and Joshua Omojafo, you know, did a great job on the glass. But again, it takes a full effort. And so, you know, there are some positives there, but you gotta take a hard look at the negatives, right?”
The Bulls will look for their first AAC win of the season when they hit the road to play North Texas at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday night.