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USF Tentative In Loss To Orange

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By MATT MICHAEL Tribune correspondent

Published: January 6, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - University of South Florida coach Stan Heath knew the Bulls needed a Herculean effort from senior center Kentrell Gransberry to upset Syracuse University on Saturday.

So when Gransberry picked up his second foul midway through the first half, Heath had a sinking feeling the Bulls were in for a long day.

With Gransberry in and out of the game and playing cautiously, the Orange rolled to an 89-77 victory before 18,860 fans at the Carrier Dome. The loss - the Bulls' second in their last 12 games - dropped USF's record to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big East.

"It's huge when Kentrell's out of the game," Heath said. "We're talking about playing a walk-on reserve center Mohammed Esseghir, and we're talking about playing a couple of guys who really haven't played college basketball at this level."

Despite his foul trouble, the 6-foot-9 Gransberry recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. But he was neutralized by SU's 6-9 redshirt sophomore center Arinze Onuaku, who had 12 points and 16 boards.

And USF's Dominique Jones (23 points) and Chris Howard (career-high 19) could not match the Orange's freshmen trio of Donte Greene (21 points, nine rebounds), Scoop Jardine (14 points, eight assists and one turnover), and Jonny Flynn (12 points, six assists).

Led by Onuaku and Paul Harris (13 rebounds), the Orange outrebounded the Bulls 53-36, with 21 on the offensive end. Syracuse (12-3, 2-0) outscored USF 25-14 on second-chance points and 31-14 on fast-break points.

"It's a fight down there, and they won the fight on the boards, and that was the difference in the running, the second-chance points, even the free throw situations, when they missed they got it back," Heath said.

When Gransberry picked up his second foul and Green sank both free throws, the Bulls trailed 26-22. But Jones sank a 3-pointer, and the Bulls had a chance to take their only lead of the game after SU's Rick Jackson clanked a pair of free throws.

But Jones missed another 3-point attempt, and Flynn sank a jumper that sparked a 21-8 Orange run in the final eight minutes of the first half.

"We let a lot of opportunities go," Howard said. "I think it was a 3-point game, and they ran away with the game with a couple of missed free throws, a couple of box-out errors and I thought they killed us with second-chance points. So that's something we can clean up."

For his part, Gransberry did not use his fouls as an excuse. He didn't pick up his third foul until 11 1/2 minutes into the second half, but was whistled for No. 4 just 20 seconds later.

"Fouls are fouls, and you've got to play the game 100 percent, fouls or no fouls," he said. "You've got to play the next play."

"He wanted to be out on the court Saturday. He didn't want to pick up anything silly," Heath said. "But when you lose his aggressiveness, that's the biggest thing he has going for him. It's like Samson cutting off his hair. He's not the same guy."

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