College basketball

Heartbreak still hounds USF

A potentially huge upset winds up another painful loss as No. 6 Villanova uses an 8-0 run to prevail 49-46.

By SHARON GINN
Published January 25, 2006

	[Times photo: Brian Cassella]
	Villanova's Kyle Lowry tries to drive in for a layup on McHugh Mattis, who had eight points, five rebounds and four blocks in 38 minutes for USF.

TAMPA - Once again, it seemed like USF's moment. And this time the Bulls were about to pull a Big East upset that couldn't get any bigger, against a No. 6 Villanova team that came to the Sun Dome on Tuesday missing one of its two senior All-America candidates.

One minute, a 3-pointer by James Holmes put the Bulls up 45-38 and sent the crowd of 5,463 into pandemonium.

One minute later, the Bulls had been stamped out by an 8-0 Villanova run, the Wildcats' only dominating streak of the night - and the only one they needed. Though USF kept fighting, it never recovered in the 49-46 loss, the Bulls' eighth straight and the fifth close loss of its six Big East games.

"We kind of let up, and that's when they went on the 8-0 run," senior center Solomon Jones said. "We can't let up. When we have the momentum, we have to find a way to dig deep."

It's hard to imagine a player digging deeper than Jones, who played all 40 minutes, grabbing 17 rebounds, scoring seven and making five assists and five of USF's 10 blocks. Junior forward Melvin Buckley also played the entire game, scoring a team-high 12 and adding nine rebounds. Junior forward McHugh Mattis played 38 minutes, contributing eight points, five rebounds and four blocks.

USF's relentless half-court defense outrebounded Villanova 44-33 and held the Wildcats (14-2, 5-1 Big East) to 30 points below their average.

But Villanova also was playing without guard Allan Ray. The team's second-leading scorer aggravated a hamstring injury in practice Monday night at the Sun Dome, and the team had to rely on senior guard Randy Foye, who scored a game-high 24, 19 in the second half.

Both teams shot poorly from the field. USF (6-13, 0-6) made 14 of 48 shots (29.2 percent), and Villanova barely fared better (16-of-54, 29.6 percent). USF point guard Collin Dennis was 0-of-13 from the field but 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Villanova never led by more than 34-30 with 10 minutes left. Then the game got streaky: The Bulls fought back with a 12-2 run that put them ahead by seven, and they lost the lead immediately to Villanova's quick eight-point binge.

USF had its chances late, but on its final two possessions Dennis turned the ball over on an errant pass and Holmes missed a 3-pointer with three seconds left.

"That was a typical tough game on the road in the Big East," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "It didn't take South Florida long to figure out how to play like a Big East team. ... That team is going to win some games in this league. They're good."

Though the losses have been frustrating, USF coach Robert McCullum said he sees progress, and his players continue to plug away.

"Everybody we're playing, we can play with," McCullum said. "Every single team. ... That's not going to change. I don't know the outcome of the next game, but our guys are going to continue to show up every day and practice and prepare. (The results) will change."

[Last modified January 25, 2006, 00:56:11]