TAMPA, Fla. (November 22, 2017) – Howard University Men's Basketball team suffered a 75-52 loss at South Florida (USF) inside the Sun Dome.
 
HU (0-6) was unable to find their groove as they scored a season-low 52 points on 33-percent shooting (20-of-60), including 13-percent (3-of-23) from deep.
 
"This game is probably on scheduling," said Howard Men's Basketball head coach Kevin Nickelberry. "We played six games in 13 days and it was a tough situation for this young group. I liked the way we fought to start the game, but eventually, we ran out of gas."
 
Guards RJ Cole and Charles Williams led the Bison attack, combining for 32 points. Cole had a game-high 17 points and six dimes while Williams added 15 points and a team-best five boards in a losing effort.
 
Moments after intermission, redshirt junior Jalen Jones made a layup and trimmed the deficit down to 10 points, 36-26, but South Florida answered with a 15-2 spurt and took a commanding lead, 51-28, at the 14:13 mark.
 
HU continued to battle, the Bulls could not be slowed down as they had their largest lead of the game with under 11 minutes remaining, 60-32.
 
Howard cut the margin as low as 16, but USF made one final push to increase their lead.
 
For South Florida (3-2), they shot 45-percent (25-of-56) from the field, including 46-percent (11-of-24) from long range. Stephan Jiggetts led the way with a team-high 16 points while Payton Banks chipped in 14 points, including four trey balls, in the victory.
 
Cole's fast-break layup gave the Bison a three-point cushion at the 14-minute mark in the first half, 10-7. Nearly five minutes later, both squads were deadlocked, 16-16, until the Bulls scored 13 unanswered and took a double-digit lead with four minutes left before intermission, 29-13.
 
Howard fought back and sliced the margin down single-digits after a long ball from Williams, but Banks responded with a three-pointer as time expired in the first half, 36-24.
 
"We were without our legs for most of our shots tonight," Nickelberry continued. "It will be good for these guys to get a short break and get back in a few days for Liberty."
 
On Nov. 27, HU concludes its seven-game road swing at Liberty. Game-time is slated for 7 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.