The USF men played probably their best basketball game of the season on Saturday, but it didn’t keep the Bulls from losing a wrenching 74-72 decision at undefeated Loyola-Chicago.
An intensely fought back-and-forth game all afternoon turned the Ramblers’ way in the final minute. The Bulls led by two before Des Watson’s three-pointer with 31 seconds left put Loyola ahead by a point.
USF’s Jayden Reid drove the lane with five seconds left and appeared to have a good chance to score. Instead, he passed toward the right wing and missed his target. Even after Loyola sank two free throws following the subsequent foul by the Bulls, the game was still in play.
Rather than take a chance that Reid would hit his fifth three-pointer of the day, the Ramblers fouled him with two seconds left. He hit the first free throw, then deliberately missed the second. Jamille Reynolds got the rebound for USF and got off a shot in time, but it rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
So close. Instead of leaving town with a win over an undefeated team, the Bulls fell to 5-4. Loyola improved to 8-0.
“Great execution by our guys in that situation. Jayden hit a big free throw to give us a chance to execute the rebound effort on the free throw. And, man, we're just centimeters off from going to overtime,” Bulls coach Ben Fletcher said.
It was a tough way to end an afternoon of high-caliber basketball by both teams, but that’s not to say the Bulls were flawless.
While Reid had a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds, he also committed a silly technical foul with 5:51 to play – apparently for taunting the Loyola bench after he a made a flying dunk shot.
The Ramblers cashed in that gift with a free throw, and that extra point changed everything about the end game situation.
Reid apologized to his coach, but the damage was done.
“I told him, ‘Man, that's a situation where you're making it about you, and it should be about the team.’ It's still an area he has to grow up in,” Fletcher said.
“But aside from that, I’m really proud of the fight the guys gave and we really had a chance to win it on the road against a good quality opponent.”
Turnovers were another area of concern and likely was the difference-maker. The Bulls turned it over 16 times compared to seven for the Ramblers.
“We did a good job of following the game plan. We just turned it over a little too much in the second half,” Fletcher said. “On the road, man, possessions are important, especially in the second half when you're trying to take care of a lead.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball. In a game like this, the little things mean so much.”
It doesn’t get easier going forward for USF. Next Saturday, the Bulls travel to Utah State, which has started the season 8-0 and topped 100 points three times.