Memphis prolongs Bulls’ streak

Freshman Ruben Guerrero had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, but USF couldn’t generate much else on offense as it lost to Memphis 75-48 on Saturday. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

The USF men’s basketball team’s 11th-straight loss was never in doubt Saturday in the Sun Dome, as Memphis easily handled the Bulls from start to finish in a 75-48 stomping. 

Outside freshman Ruben Guerrero’s career-high 17-point performance, USF struggled mightily on offense. The only other Bull to score in double digits was freshman Bo Zeigler, who scored 10 points, but made only 2-of-8 shots. 

Memphis (15-10, 7-5) led by only 10 at the half and the Bulls were able to cut the lead to three points two minutes into the second half, but Memphis outscored USF 44-20 down the stretch to put the game out of reach. 

The Tigers were efficient on offense throughout the game, dishing out 10 more assists than USF (7-19, 1-12) and committing seven fewer turnovers. 

“I think we started turning the ball over and our turnovers were leading to fast break points for them, which led to giving them more energy and affecting ours a little bit in the second half,” coach Orlando Antigua said in a press release.

While the Tigers’ well-orchestrated offense led to a 45.8 shooting percentage, the Bulls had four players miss at least six shots and the team combined to shoot 0-for-7 on 3-pointers. 

Memphis was able to spread out its offense, as seven players scored at least seven points. Shaq Goodwin led the charge with 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting.

USF has five games remaining before the conclusion of the regular schedule, and its offense must play better than it has in the past two months if it wants to win. The Bulls have scored over 60 points only twice in 2015 and have won only one game in that timespan. 

The Bulls will continue in the Sun Dome as it hosts struggling Houston (9-15, 1-11) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.