Charlotte 49ers miss chance for win at buzzer, fall at South Florida late, 78-76
Terrence Samuel hit the second of two free throws, knocked down a jumper and fed Tulio Da Silva for what proved to be the game winner in the final minutes to assure South Florida of a 78-76 win over Charlotte Thursday night.
Samuel's jumper gave the Bulls a 76-70 lead with 1:31 left, but Jaylan McGill answered with a 3-pointer to pull the 49ers within three. Da Silva's jumper made it 78-73 with 1:03 left.
Jon Davis answered with a trey to get Charlotte within two, but missed two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds.
Charlotte led by two at the break, but Payton Banks made a jumper seconds into the second half to even it at 41-41. Justin Brown hit a 3 midway through the half to give USF the lead for good, 57-55.
Da Silva led USF (7-6) with 23 points.
Charlotte (4-7) had 16 points from Andrien White. Austin Ajukwa and Davis each added 15 points.
The 49ers begin Conference USA play on the road at Old Dominion on Saturday at 7 p.m.
SOUTH FLORIDA 78, CHARLOTTE 76
CHARLOTTE (4-7)
Garvin 4-11 0-0 8, Haslem 3-5 0-2 6, White 5-10 1-2 16, Davis 5-16 3-5 15, Ajukwa 3-8 7-8 15, Supica 2-4 0-0 4, McGill 4-6 1-1 12. Totals 26-60 12-18 76.
SOUTH FLORIDA (7-6)
Da Silva 10-15 3-4 23, Scekic 0-1 0-2 0, Samuel 3-7 1-2 7, Jiggetts 3-11 0-0 7, Banks 5-11 0-0 13, Martin 1-2 0-0 2, Manderson 3-7 2-4 8, Collins 2-2 2-3 6, Brown 4-7 0-0 12. Totals 31-63 8-15 78.
Halftime—Charlotte 41-39. 3-Point Goals—Charlotte 12-25 (White 5-9, McGill 3-5, Ajukwa 2-3, Davis 2-7, Garvin 0-1), South Florida 8-23 (Brown 4-6, Banks 3-8, Jiggetts 1-6, Scekic 0-1, Samuel 0-1, Manderson 0-1). Fouled Out—Haslem. Rebounds—Charlotte 29 (Haslem 8), South Florida 37 (Da Silva 12). Assists—Charlotte 17 (Davis 9), South Florida 19 (Jiggetts 8). Total Fouls—Charlotte 13, South Florida 13. A—2,099 (10,411).
This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers miss chance for win at buzzer, fall at South Florida late, 78-76."