USF overcomes offensive slump, rallies to beat Tulsa

A barely audible chorus of boos could be heard in the Yuengling Center when guard Jayden Reid’s three-point shot hit the back rim and into the waiting arms of a Tulsa defender.
It was Reid’s sixth miss from deep with just over eleven minutes to play in the second half. The Bulls made just two of their 16 three-point attempts in the game.
Minutes later, it would be Reid hyping up the crowd as the Bulls would rally from a 10-point deficit with five minutes left to beat Tulsa 63-56 on Saturday.
“We never really want to come back, but for these guys to show the grit they showed and lead the charge in a comeback is fun to see,” interim coach Ben Fletcher said.
The Bulls may have gone on a 19-2 run during that five minute stretch, but it wasn’t all that pretty getting there.
Related: USF men’s basketball falls to UAB in second straight conference loss
USF shot 35% from the floor, and an abysmal 11% from three.
Tulsa (8-10, 2-3 AAC) led by five at the half, and led all the way until a layup by forward Kobe Knox gave the Bulls the one point advantage.
Reid himself had a pedestrian outing, making only two of 11 shot attempts. Freshman guard CJ Brown scored a career-high 16 points, including a crucial steal and layup that put the Bulls up by four.
Brown said the Bulls (10-8, 3-2 AAC) weren’t even fazed by the deficit.
“Just the guys on the bench, when we were in the game in crunch time, telling us to keep fighting, keep fighting,” Brown said.
Related: American Athletic Conference to honor Amir Abdur-Rahim
The win ended a two-game slide for the Bulls, including a failed comeback attempt versus UAB on Wednesday when the Bulls cut a 20-point lead to just six.
Fletcher said the Bulls’ work came into fruition on Saturday.
“Man, a lot of things didn’t go our way, they never hung their head,” Fletcher said. “You guys have heard me say, and I’m going to keep saying it, but they’re a resilient bunch.”
Men’s basketball will face Charlotte on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Bulls Unlimited.