Men's Basketball Drops AAC Opener To USF, 74-71

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati men's basketball team staged a second-half rally which came up short in a 74-71 loss to South Florida in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams, Wednesday in Fifth Third Arena. 

Trailing by as many as 12, Cincinnati (2-3, 0-1 AAC) had a run spearheaded by Keith Williams, who scored 12-straight points over 4:19 to tie things up at 68-68 with 4:30 remaining in the game. 

South Florida (5-2, 1-0 AAC), winners of four-straight games, scored five-consecutive points to lead 73-68 with 2:55 to go. Both offenses went cold until a Tari Eason triple with 41 seconds left pulled UC within two at 73-71. USF's Michael Durr split a pair of free throws and Cincinnati's Jeremiah Davenport had a good look at a potential tying three-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot bounced off the iron.

Williams, who fouled out late, led the Bearcats with 15 points. He has made a habit of big games against the Bulls, pouring in 30 the last time the two teams met on March 3, 2020. Chris Vogt added 13 points and three assists. Eason, a 6-8 freshman from Seattle, had a career-best 13 points including a dunk early in the second half. He also had nine rebounds.

It was UC's first loss to USF since Feb. 26, 2012, a span of 11 games, and the Bulls first win in Cincinnati since 1988 and first-ever triumph inside Fifth Third Arena, which opened in 1989 and celebrated its 500th game on Wednesday night. 

Durr finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for USF while Xavier Castaneda added 14 and David Collins scored 11 points.

UP NEXT
The Bearcats will travel to Athens, Georgia, to face off against the Bulldogs on Saturday Dec 19, 2020 at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network and air on 102.7 WEBN FM. The last time the met was 9 years ago to the day where Cincinnati won 57-51.

Cincinnati continues its AAC season against Tulsa on Jan. 2, 2021.