TAMPA, Fla. – LMU climbed back from 15 points down in the second half to make it a one-possession game, but South Florida pulled away at the end to take the semifinal round of the Roman College Basketball Invitational, 56-47.
 
The two teams traded off scoring the game's first eight baskets until USF took their first lead of the game, 10-8. James Batemon with one and Erik Johansson with a pair, promptly provided a 9-0 answer with three consecutive threes to push the game to 17-10.
 
The Bulls missed their first seven three point attempts, but used their only triple of the half to start an 8-0 run and retake the lead 20-18.
 
The teams went into the locker room tied at 22-all after Batemon found Mattias Markusson for an inside bucket with 33 seconds left and LMU earning a defensive stop on the opposite end of the court.
 
Neither team shot above 35 percent in the first half with LMU limiting USF to 33 percent (9-for-26) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
 
A Markusson dunk opened the second half, but USF rattled off 17 of the next 19 to follow.
 
LMU did not concede, and consecutive layups from Zafir Williams sparked a 11-0 run and brought USF's lead back to four. The 13-1 extended run made it a one-possession game, 45-42, with 6:34 remaining.
 
The Bulls scored their final 12 points on free throws and layups to close out the game. The Lions shot 1-for-4 from the line, while USF knocked down 12 of their 18 attempts.
 
For the first time this season, LMU did not finish with a double-digit scorer. Batemon, Johansson, and Markusson shared team-high honors with nine points apiece.
 
The loss closes out LMU's season with an overall record of 22-12, 11 more wins from the previous season. The 22 wins is tied for third all-time in program history with the the 1948-49 team, and trails only NCAA Tournament teams in 1987-88 (28 wins) and 1989-90 (26 wins).