South Florida men’s basketball dropped to 1-2 after an 83-80 defeat against Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Maryland. The Bulls rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit for the second game, but late turnovers sealed the outcome in the Veterans Classic matchup.
The Bulls opened the game with 12 unanswered points before struggling from the perimeter, finishing the first half shooting just 1-of-12 from three-point range. Compounding the shooting woes, South Florida committed 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, allowing the Hawks to build a 39-34 halftime advantage. Chris Davis Jr. led the Bulls with 10 points in the first half, accounting for the team’s only successful perimeter shot before the break.
Saint Joseph’s pushed its advantage to as many as 14 points in the second half. BJ Ranson paced the Hawks with 21 points, shooting 6-of-9 from beyond the arc as part of a 12-of-26 team performance from three-point territory. The Hawks finished the contest with only six turnovers.
Rally Falls Short in Final Seconds
South Florida gradually chipped away at the deficit behind a balanced scoring effort. Davis and Mike James each scored 16 points, with James grabbing a team-high nine rebounds alongside seven boards from Davis. Andrej Shoshkikj contributed 15 points off the bench, while Sonny Wilson and Zayden High added 13 points apiece.
Now watching Saint Joseph’s-South Florida
The Bulls shot 8-of-28 from distance overall and dominated the rebounding glass 52-36, but struggled with ball security by committing 23 turnovers and 23 personal fouls. A late surge brought the margin down to two points at 77-75 following a post move and free throw by High with 3.58 left on the clock, after 6-foot-11 Saint Joseph’s center Sean Logan fouled out with five blocks.
Wilson later converted a high-banking layup and a foul to pull the Bulls within one at 79-78. After Ranson hit his sixth three-pointer to extend the Hawks’ lead to 82-78, High sank two free throws to make it 82-80 with 1:19 remaining.
Following a defensive stop, the Bulls had possession with 30 seconds left to play, mirroring a late-game scenario from their previous loss at DePaul. However, Wilson turned the ball over on an attempted kick-out pass, forcing South Florida to foul and sending Saint Joseph’s to the line to seal the 83-80 final score.
Bulls Host Coppin State at Yuengling Center
The Bulls return to Tampa for their first home game in two weeks, hosting Coppin State on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. matchup broadcast on ESPN+. The program enters its 56th season under head coach Chris Mack, who took over the team on March 25, 2026, following a tenure at the College of Charleston.
South Florida plays its home fixtures at the 10,400-seat Yuengling Center on the Tampa campus.
