All Wes Miller could do Saturday night was look on helplessly as his team crumbled late.
For the third straight game, the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team was on the losing end, this time to last-place South Florida 56-54 in the final game of the season at Fifth Third Arena.
More:'We've just got to get back to playing Cincinnati basketball': UC vows to finish strong
"I'm really hurting for our young people," said Miller, almost searching for words. "They played their asses off for us tonight. And that's the way that you're supposed to defend and you're supposed to fight at Cincinnati. Is it perfect? No. There's a couple possessions that are really poor defensively. But for the most part, that was back to what I've wanted to be able to expect from this team every night. I hate that we couldn't get the result because of it. I hurt for them."
With three seconds left and the score tied at 54 apiece, USF guard Jamir Chaplin inbounded the ball to a wide-open Corey Walker Jr., who threw it ahead to Russel Tchewa. The 7-footer sank a shot over his left shoulder to deliver the Bulls (8-20, 3-13 American Athletic Conference) just their third win in conference play.
Cincinnati junior guard Jeremiah Davenport appeared to lose Walker on the play, leaving him wide open and forcing Abdul Ado to pull away from Tchewa.
"We're not going to place any blame at Jeremiah," MIller said. "That's not going to happen. The blame goes at me. I'm the coach. We don't point fingers at young people. I'm the coach, and the fact of the matter is he let somebody get behind him in a defense that's designed not to do that. That's the coach's fault. That means the coach doesn't have the team prepared. That's not a young person's fault that gives their heart and soul to this university and this program every day. That's on my ass. I've got to do a better job of preparing our team for those kind of situations."
John Newman III had 11 points and eight rebounds and Mika Adams-Woods added 10 points for the Bearcats (17-12, 7-9) who suffered their fifth defeat in six games.
Cincinnati, which finished 2-6 in the month of February, has two regular-season games left (Tuesday at Houston and Thursday at SMU) before the start of the AAC Tournament (March 10-13 in Fort Worth, Texas).
"Look, losing is hard, bro, but I still believe we can accomplish everything we wanted to accomplish this year," Newman said. "We can put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves and pout and give up. Because a lot of teams in college basketball would give up right now. But I know that's not the kind of person I am and that's not the kind of guys that I have in the locker room with me. So we're just going to keep going and keep fighting. That's all we can do."
Cincinnati honored Ado and fellow graduate transfer Hayden Koval and walk-on Sam Martin before the game as part of the senior night festivities. Martin, a fifth-year graduate student from Summit Country Day, received his first start of the season.
"The fans have been amazing," Martin said. "It's been a really special experience for me. From all the coaches, teammates, trainers, all the managers, every single person that's been part of this journey for me has made this special. The fans kind of capped it off tonight. Obviously, we wanted to get a win, but they did a great job of making it special for us seniors."
Newman and fellow senior David DeJulius did not participate in the pregame ceremony, most likely signaling their intention to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newman said after the game he intends to return to UC for another season. DeJulius, who finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting, said following Wednesday's loss at Central Florida that he hadn't decided what he'll do next season.
Newman, who transferred to Cincinnati this offseason after a three-year stint at Clemson, said he'll try to persuade DeJulius to return for another season in Clifton.
"I want to have Dave back," he said. "He's one of the best players I've ever played with."
Sporting alternate 1970s throwback uniforms for the second time this season, the Bearcats missed their first 11 shots. Mason Madsen ended the drought with a 3-pointer nearly seven minutes into the game.
Adams-Woods knocked down a 3-pointer off a pass from Madsen to put the Bearcats ahead 16-14 at the 7:24 mark. It was UC's first lead of the night.
Cincinnati, which led 27-25 at halftime, used a 6-0 run to work its way to a 40-33 cushion with 12:40 to play.
The Bearcats missed four straight field-goal attempts and the Bulls rattled off seven straight points to take a 43-41 advantage with 8:22 left. The USF rally forced Miller to take a timeout and regroup.
Adams-Woods came out of the pause and hit a 3-pointer to put UC back up 44-43. But the Bulls would not go away.
South Florida turned back-to-back Cincinnati turnovers into two straight baskets and grabbed a 49-48 lead with 4:26 remaining.
Davenport hit a jumper with his foot on the 3-point line to tie the game at 54-54 with a minute left.
Following a USF timeout, Davenport forced a Bulls' turnover with 35.7 seconds to play.
Miller called another timeout with 17.9 seconds left to set up a play. DeJulius wound up missing a step-back three that bounced off the rim and into USF guard Jamir Chaplin's hands with five seconds on the clock.
"I thought it was the right timeout to call to try to find the best matchup for Dave," Miller said. "... I thought we got a switch that gave him somewhat of an advantage that we were trying to pick on what we thought would be the best advantage for David. I thought David did a nice job of creating space and getting a clean look. I thought he made it. I thought he made it when it hit the front of the rim and it bounced up there. And I thought we had a great chance to get the offensive rebound."
Cincinnati shot just 33% (19-for-58) from the field, 21% (5-for-24) from 3-point range and 52% (11-for-21) from the free-throw line.
The Bearcats will face Houston on Tuesday. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
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