Tulio Da Silva was averaging a team high 5.6 rebounds per game before his release. 
ORACLE  FILE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

Before losing to UCF by two points on Jan. 20, USF announced that forward Tulio Da Silva had been removed from the team.

The reasoning, coach Brian Gregory said in a press release, was that it was in the best interests of both Da Silva and the program to part ways.

“I just wasn’t feeling comfortable,” Da Silva said. “It wasn’t about the players, wasn’t about the coaching staff. It was just the system and how the coach wanted us to play together. I didn’t see myself fitting on the team.”

Gregory never gave a specific reason for the split.

“As we do this, with our program, to build it really well — it’s not for everyone,” Gregory said. “We’re not a back-pocket program, and we’re going to bring in guys that want to be here and are a great fit.”

Before he left, Da Silva was averaging eight points per game, which was third best on the team and averaged a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game. 

When asked if he planned on transferring to play elsewhere, Da Silva shrugged and said he plans on focusing on his grades now and basketball later.

Women’s basketball beats Temple 76-60

Behind a strong third quarter, USF turned what was a halftime deficit into a 76-60 win over Temple (9-11, 1-6) on Sunday afternoon in the Sun Dome.

The Bulls (16-5, 6-2) scored 31 points in the game’s third period, with forward Kitija Laksa scoring 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter. Forward Maria Jespersen shot 8-11 from the field and scored a game-high 24 points.

“I was pleased with how we came out of the locker room at half time and started the third quarter,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “We played a lot of guys in the first half but I thought we came out with good energy out of the locker room, scored in transition and shared the ball. That’s what we needed. We took care of the ball and did a great job rebounding.”

Men’s basketball follows up first win with loss to Houston

Coming off of its first conference win of the season Thursday, USF fell to Houston 63-40 on the road, while making just one three-pointer on 14 attempts.

Houston (16-2, 6-4)  was led by guard Corey Davis, who was the only player from either team to score more than 10 points in the contest, finishing with 17 on 6-of-9 shooting.

The Bulls (8-14, 1-8) will return to Tampa on Wednesday night for a game against Memphis (13-8, 4-4), which is scheduled for an 8:30 tip-off.