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USF's Road Woes Mount

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By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 20, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - It's still early in University of South Florida coach Stan Heath's debut season, but one thing hasn't changed from past USF teams: the inability to win road games against big-time opponents.

USF lost at Wake Forest 74-61 Wednesday, the Bulls' 26th consecutive road loss against a BCS conference opponent dating to 2000.

"I'll make it short and sweet," Heath said. "We weren't very good tonight. It just wasn't there tonight for whatever reason."

The Bulls (7-4) entered Lawrence Joel Coliseum with a seven-game winning streak, but exited with their fewest points of the season. USF shot 34.5 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from 3-point range, both season-worst efforts.

USF needed five minutes to make its first field goal and midway through the first half, the Bulls had as many turnovers (eight) as points, trailing 25-8.

"We didn't come out ready until the last 10 minutes of the first half," USF junior Jesus Verdejo said. "When you're on the road, you're not going to get any calls. It's you against everybody. We have to play harder, harder, harder."

The Bulls got within 31-26 1:49 before halftime, only to let the Demon Deacons (7-3) close the half on a 6-1 run.

Trailing 40-35, USF had a chance to cut the deficit to a single possession, but Verdejo missed two shots inside and Solomon Bozeman missed a wide open 3-pointer. Wake's Harvey Hale drilled consecutive 3-pointers, sparking a 21-5 run that sealed USF's fate.

"We had a lackadaisical start," USF senior center Kentrell Gransberry said. "We gave the game away at the beginning. We woke up late and tried to make a run for it, but it was too late."

USF cut a 21-point second-half deficit to seven in the final 90 seconds, but Wake hit its free throws to hold on.

Verdejo and Dominique Jones paced USF with 14 points each and Chris Howard added 10.

Gransberry finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, but eight of those points came in the final five minutes.

"He wasn't here," Heath said. "He had a four-minute stretch in the second half where he played like Gransberry, other than that, I kept trying to figure if that was the guy I've been coaching the last month and a half.

"When I read in the paper 10 and 8 - 'Hey it wasn't that bad,' but it was really an atypical performance for him."

Uncharacteristically, Gransberry missed several inside shots. "I didn't finish, but I can't blame nobody but myself," Gransberry said. "I have to keep working on getting my touch back."

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com. For more on USF's game go to

INSIDE THE GAME

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Wake reserve Jamie Skeen had a game-high 17 points and added seven rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME: In their first nine games, the Bulls shot 47 percent from the field. In their last two games, they're shooting 36 percent.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 40-35 with 14 minutes remaining, USF missed three shots to cut the deficit to a single possession and Wake responded with a 21-5 run.

UP NEXT: USF hosts St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

TBO.com, keyword: Bulls Report.

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