The University of South Florida Bulls (5-8, 0-1 AAC) got off to a hot start in their conference opener on Wednesday night, and led for the first 12 minutes of play against No. 12 Houston (13-2, 2-0 AAC), before the Cougars' offense pulled away in the second half for an 83-66 win at the Yuengling Center.

Jamir Chaplin (Norcross, Ga.) and Javon Greene (McDonough, Ga.) paced the Bulls with 16 points apiece. Chaplin matched his career high in scoring while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds and also dishing out a career-best five assists.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the field in the opening half as South Florida trailed, 40-37, at the break. Houston went on to shoot 62.5 percent in the second half to secure the victory.

"I really liked our competitiveness in the first half and it lent itself to us getting off to a great start," said head coach Brian Gregory. "We were able to match their toughness in that first half, but we weren't as physical as we needed to be in the second half, especially around the rim."

Houston ended the game with a 42-22 advantage in points in the paint. Josh Carlton did a bulk of that damage for the Cougars as he led scorers with 30 points.

The Bulls opened the contest with a bang by knocking down three straight triples to claim a 9-2 edge. Greene hit two in a row from downtown and Jake Boggs (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded the other. USF led by as many as nine points in the opening minutes and hung with the Cougars for the entire first half before Houston overtook the lead for good at the 2:57 mark.

South Florida went 5-9 from three-point range over the first 20 minutes of play before finishing the game 7-20 in that category.

Chaplin registered double digits in the scoring column for the fifth time this season and is averaging 15 points over his last two games.

"He played with great energy and movement tonight," Gregory added about Chaplin. "It started on the defensive end for him and carried over to the offense, which he's been doing more of the last couple games to really help us."

Notable

• Jalyn McCreary (Marietta, Ga.) scored a season-high 12 points and recorded five rebounds.
• USF matched Houston in offensive rebounds with 12, but was out-rebounded in total, 40-31.
• The Bulls' seven three-pointers on Wednesday matched a season high.

Up Next

South Florida opens a two-game road trip on Saturday at Tulane. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. in New Orleans.