12/27/10 Tampa Tribune: USF falls to Seton Hall
More of the same as Bulls fall to Seton Hall
BY AARON BRACY
Special correspondent
Stan Heath said he can just play back the tape from South Florida’s recent losses to describe its latest defeat.
The Bulls battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit before falling short at the end once again, losing 64-55 to Seton Hall on Tuesday night in the Big East opener for both teams.
“I could almost replay the same story,” Heath said after the Bulls dropped their fifth game in their past six. “We’ve been a team that kind of hangs in there in the last three or four minutes. We haven’t learned what it takes to win down the stretch. We made some plays that make you scratch your head and we didn’t get the stops we needed.”
Trailing 46-36 with 10:31 remaining, South Florida continued to fight and claw, trying to overcome a subpar shooting performance possibly affected by their 3 a.m. arrival in Newark, and pulled within four on four occasions. But the Bulls (6-8) couldn’t make the plays down the stretch while the Pirates (7-6) did just enough.
Hugh Robertson led four Bulls in double-figures with 14 points, while Jeff Robinson paced five Pirates in double-figures with 15 points. USF committed 17 turnovers, while missing nine of 10 3-pointers.
Due to the blizzard in the New York City area, the Bulls had to fly to Washington, D.C., and bus to Newark, arriving just 16 hours before tipoff. They shot as if tired in the opening 20 minutes, going 8-for-26 (30.8 percent), and then missed eight of their first 13 shots after halftime to fall into the 10-point hole.
Heath said he never had arrived so late for a game in his coaching career, but refused to use that as an excuse.
“It was a tough break that we got dealt with the weather, but I don’t think it really affected the game that much for us,” he said. “We didn’t look like we were slow at all, but I didn’t think we had the enthusiasm you need to have in your Big East opener. You have to have energy, have to have enthusiasm and have to be excited to play. I don’t necessarily blame that on getting in at 3 in the morning.”
Rather, Heath placed the loss the Bulls’ continued inability to find answers in key moments. USF has been in every game, as all eight of its defeats have come by nine points or less. The Bulls just can’t figure out how to win.
Heath pointed to turnovers late in the game by Bulls guards as a sign of their struggle. USF trailed 54-48 with 4:52 remaining, but turned it over on three straight possessions â all by guards â during a pivotal juncture.
“To win in this league,” Heath said, “you have to have good guard play. Guards have to be leaders, have to exude some confidence, have to make good decisions down stretch. (They) don’t have to be perfect. We’re not getting that right now, especially down the stretch.”
It won’t get any easier for the Bulls, as they travel to No. 4 UConn on Friday before returning home to face No. 8 Villanova and No. 22 Louisville.
“We’ve got to regroup,” Heath said. “We’ve got UConn next and it’s not going to get any easier.”
