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Bulls lose at Memphis for sixth straight time

MEMPHIS 81, USF 62: B.B. Waldon goes scoreless and the Bulls shoot only 29 percent from the field.

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 16, 2002

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Antonio Burks had 16 points and eight assists Tuesday to lead Memphis to an 81-62 victory over South Florida.

The victory gave Memphis (14-4, 4-0) sole possession of the top spot in Conference USA's National Division and marked the Tigers' eighth victory in their past nine games.

The loss was the Bulls' sixth in a row at Memphis and first in conference play.

Burks was 7-for-12 from the field as four Tigers scored in double figures. Dajuan Wagner had 15 points, but was 4-for-17 from the field. Scooter McFadgon added 14 and Kelly Wise had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"If you had told me that Burks would take 12 shots, I would have thought we'd be in good shape," USF coach Seth Greenberg said. "But he hurt us.

"We didn't do a good job in transition defense with him. Give Memphis credit. They're a very good basketball team."

Altron Jackson had 24 points and Will McDonald 23 for South Florida (12-4, 3-1), which shot 29 percent from the field.

The rest of the Bulls scored only 15 points, and B.B. Waldon, South Florida's second-leading scorer, was held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting from the field.

Memphis, which led by 11 at the half, held a double-digit lead in the final 13:39 of the game.

USF shook off a 9-3 deficit to take a 14-13 lead midway through the first half.

Memphis, however, went on a 15-5 run and scored six of the final seven points of the first half for a 38-27 lead behind Burks' 10 points.

The Tigers built the lead after the Bulls went more than four minutes without scoring in the latter stages of the first half.

Wagner opened the second half with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to build the lead to 43-27, and the Tigers were never threatened again.

From there, South Florida could get no closer than nine, the last time coming on a dunk by Mike Bernard with 13:52 left.

"We had a lot of opportunities in the first half," Greenberg said. "We just didn't finish. And we missed too many free throws. You can't miss free throws like we did. It's the same thing as a turnover when you miss those opportunities.

"But I thought we competed, and this wasn't a 20-point ballgame in my mind. At least I didn't see it that way. Maybe I'll watch film, look back on it and change my mind. But I didn't see it that way."

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