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The Oracle

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w w w. u s fo r a c l e. co m

U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F LO R I DA

Civil rights leader to account his experiences working with MLK

Young people should meditate in schools Page 4

Student DJ spins his Goals met at national way into success cheer competition Page 6

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the Oracle the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief Miki Shine oracleeditor@gmail.com @MichaelAZShine Managing Editor Jesse Stokes oraclemeditor@gmail.com News Editor Maria Ranoni oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Opinion Editor Samantha Moffett Sports Editor Josh Fiallo oraclesportseditor@gmail.com @ByJoshFiallo Multimedia Editor Chaveli Guzman oraclemultimediaeditor@gmail.com

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Activist Harry Belafonte continues tradition of MLK ULS speakers ●

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CDC says flu is now epidemic in US On Friday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said the U.S. is experiencing a flu epidemic as hospitalization rates soar.

According to ABC News, there were seven pediatric deaths last week, bringing the total number of deaths this flu season to 20.

Serious outbreaks of the flu have even forced some schools to close in Alabama, Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

H3N2, a severe strain of the flu, has proven to be the most common during this flu season.

Some antiviral drugs have been approved and, if taken within 48 hours of the symptoms’ onset, they can prevent dangerous complications in the most vulnerable age groups.

An Australian study found that this year’s flu vaccine was only 10 percent effective against the virus. However, the CDC still recommends getting the vaccine, even this late into the season.

CAM exhibition explores Cuba and US relations

By Maria Ranoni N E W S

Harry Belafonte (center), artist and activist, will be speaking Tuesday as a part of ULS. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Miki Shine E D I T O R

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C H I E F

Each year the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. day as a way to remember the strides he pushed for during the civil rights movement. At USF, this means a week of events centered around the topic of civil rights with one of the staples being the University Lecture Series (ULS) speaker.

Over the past few years, speakers have included Black Lives Matter organizer Alicia Garza, rapper Killer Mike and journalist Soledad O’Brien who are all making waves in the current climate in favor of social change.

However, this year’s speaker isn’t looking at the present so much as looking at the past.

“This year, the students on ULS wanted to give USF Tampa students the opportunity to experience a part of history,” said Margaret Merryday, student programs coordinator for ULS. Harry Belafonte, 90, social activist and entertainer, will be featured as this year’s MLK speaker. Belafonte has a different connection to the topic of MLK than previous lecturers as somebody who knew MLK personally.

Belafonte supported MLK from early on in the civil rights movement and used

his position as a well-known performer to promote it. He was introduced to MLK at a party in 1963, and the two became close friends.

When MLK was arrested during the Birmingham Campaign, a movement organized by the Southern Christian Le a d e rs h i p Conference to bring awareness to integration efforts, Belafonte raised $50,000 to keep the campaign going.

In 1967, MLK turned to Belafonte to help with the Freedom Festival — a music festival held in Texas that would serve as a fundraiser for the civil rights movement.

n See ULS on PAGE 9

E D I T O R

The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) unveiled its new exhibition Friday, but it’s name may be a bit misleading at first.

The exhibition, “Climate Change: Cuba/USA,” was purposefully named according to CAM’s handout.

However, it has nothing to do with global warming.

Rather, this exhibition features art that comments on the constantly changing relationship between Cuba and the U.S. In an email to The Oracle, Noel Smith, the deputy director of CAM and the curator for this exhibition, said the controversy that now surrounds the term “climate change” is very similar to that of the relationship between the two countries.

“I wanted to look at what is happening with Cuban and CubanAmerican artists regarding the dynamics that are happening between Cuba and the United States; these constant fluctuations on both sides that may or may not be leading to any kind of real change,” Smith said. “How are they affecting their lives and their artistic practices?

“The artists come from different generations, their experiences living in and out of Cuba are varied, as are their aesthetic expressions.

Climate change is a slow process, and the term is charged. We just turned it around a bit to mean the gradual changes that are affecting this important relationship between our two countries, which is quite equally charged.”

The exhibition features the Cuban and Cuban-American Artists, Celia y

n See CAM on PAGE 5

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Opinion

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Meditation should be included in grade school

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MLK is not a political pawn

By Miki Shine E D I T O R

Implementing meditation at a young age would have many psychological benefits. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE organizations backing the reduce occurrences of unfavorable

By Sergi Pons institutionalization of meditation behavior and counseling C O L U M N I S T into the normal school day, school intervention in public schools.

The Westernization of boards and traditionalists have When non-profit foundations meditation is a movement with been relentless in their stance. In such as Minds and The David huge momentum behind it in the lower income areas in cities like Lynch Foundation incorporated U.S. currently. Health enthusiasts Baltimore. meditation programs in schools and mental health professionals In Western culture, meditation centered in low-income areas, have been endorsing meditation is often incorrectly interpreted they found that having troubled since the early 2000s and as a form of Buddhist prayer, students practice meditation spiritualists have been preaching Buddhist religious practices. A improved their behavior further its practice since the ‘70s. Now, report by Science Daily conducted than any other correctional with the growth of yoga studios at the University of Oslo states that method currently used in public and wellness centers across the meditation has “nonetheless been schools. country, it is only gaining traction. controversial in many Western Sarah Lazar, a neuroscientist Meditation has been proven to religions.” from Harvard who studies have a positive impact on mental In reality, meditation is a meditation and its benefits, found health in a variety of ways. A study practice of mindfulness, a mental that in an eight-week period of done in the Massachusetts General effort to focus on one particular daily meditation, areas of the Hospital by Harvard researchers instance or action, in an attempt brain that deal with handling found that meditation increased to reach an emotionally and emotions and perspective taking self-acceptance, autonomy, mentally peaceful state. grew thicker and more proficient. personal growth and purpose in According to the Anxiety and Meditation has the potential to life. This in turn decreased feelings Depression Association of America change not only the way people of anxiety and depression.

(AADA), anxiety disorders affect think but the way mental health Despite its growing popularity, over 40 million adults 18 or older is approached, and it must the struggle to bring meditation in the U.S. and can begin at an continue to be implemented into into public schools remains. age as early as 13. The AADA also educational bodies on a much With the growing epidemic states that one in eight children larger scale, not just in isolated of adverse mental health will develop anxiety before the cases. Organizations need to conditions, meditation is no age of 18, potentially having keep pursuing a future in which longer a constructive option but detrimental consequences on both meditation is a standard daily a necessity. Meditation needs to their academic and psychological practice for a majority of people. be implemented in public schools development. and taught from a young age to Teaching meditation from an assure the success and well-being early age will not only mitigate Sergi Pons is a sophomore of all future generations. the development of mental majoring in advertising.

Even with numerous illnesses, but will also drastically

I N

C H I E F

Over the years, many people have used the name of Martin Luther King Jr. to justify their positions on a wide variety of subjects. His name has become a frequent drop for politicians and debaters alike.

For instance, the most recent edition of New Yorker featured MLK kneeling with NFL players in a depiction of protests that have caused controversy in the nation. The issue here is we don’t know that MLK would be kneeling. We don’t know what he would be doing.

We don’t know what his stance would be on tax reform, immigration policy, international relations or even current race-based issues. Yet, his name can and does get pulled into things.

However, these are usually arguments where King’s name really doesn’t need to be there.

One of the most common logical fallacies is the appeal to authority. This is basically what’s being used when people try to use a reference to King in order to win an argument.

His name is recognizable and is one that a large portion of people have a positive view of. When trying to win an argument, it almost makes sense to bring somebody like that into it: to say that person would have agreed with you.

The only problem with that, unfortunately, is that King was assassinated. He’s no longer around to give his opinion on issues.

Nobody can assume what anybody who isn’t alive anymore would have thought about a particular issue or situation. Surely King would have an opinion on what these people, and particularly politicians, are debating on.

However, he’s not around to give it.

We need to stop sullying his name and cheapening it by using him as a defense for arguments. When King’s name gets used so often, it makes what he actually fought for seem less important or to have less of an impact.

The only stances we can say he had are the ones are the ones he blatantly stated and stood up for during his lifetime. It is unfair to him, his memory and his family to use him as a debating tool for whatever side of an issue you agree with.

It’s time to stop constantly bringing him into new debates and allow him to stay in his accomplishments of the past while remembering his contributions.

Miki Shine is a senior majoring in mass communication.

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CAM opened its new exhibition about Cuba on Friday. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN

CAM

Continued from PAGE 3

Yunior, Antonio Eligio Fernández “Tonel,” Javier Castro and Glexis Novoa.

As students enter the exhibition, they are greeted with a very strong scent of tobacco which can’t be pinpointed just yet.

Then, as they move along, they come across four video installations of varying sizes. One of these videos may make the faint-hearted squirm a bit as it only shows two worn-looking hands touching what looks like raw chicken meat, accompanied by sound.

“Castro presents four richly chromatic and visually mesmerizing interrelated digital videos, collectively titled “Cuatro Cosas Básicas/Four Basic Things,” that reflect on basic aspects of human behavior, desires and struggles,” Smith said. “The approximately six-minute videos, filmed in Castro’s marginal Old Havana neighborhood and in Miami, are arranged in the gallery for simultaneous viewing.

“Through single metaphorical images and repetitive actions, the works speak compellingly of life in Cuba while addressing issues of concern shared by individuals in

contemporary societies.”

Moving along, the tobacco smell is finally discovered to be coming from a large upside down V-shaped hut using tobacco leaves as a makeshift roof.

“Their (Celia y Yunior) structure “Varaentierra,” built on site at CAM, takes its inspiration from a rustic storm shelter common in rural Cuba, and incorporates tobacco leaves and stripped tobacco stalks as well as historical research in the form of text,” Smith said. “The work investigates the history of unionism that united Tampa and Havana cigar workers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

“What was in Tampa once a thriving, important industry that supported many thousands of families, has declined into a touristoriented, boutique attraction, mirroring a similar process experienced by the cigar industry in Cuba.”

Next to this structure, students can see marble slabs with graphite drawings on them. One of these sticks out as it shows the word “Trump” with Nazi imagery and the Confederate flag.

“Glexis Novoa’s installation examines the development of his work from his native Cuba to his life in the United States, and, finally, to the recent

re-establishment of his studio in Havana,” Smith said. “Included are exquisite graphite drawings on reclaimed marble slabs that speak to the political power of architecture, colorful paintings that reflect on the new Cuban ‘wordscape’ he encountered, and vintage flags and ephemera which focus on aspects of Cuban Revolution ideology.”

Behind these installations, students can see various flags above their heads, as well as posters on the wall, reminiscent of a revolutionary Cuba.

As the Cuban and U.S. relationship continues to fluctuates, the relevancy of this exhibition is evident.

“Closing our borders and our minds are not viable alternatives in this globalized world,” Smith said. “We need to learn about and welcome other cultures and societies, and a university museum can provide vehicles for this type of cultural awareness and ultimate acceptance of how difference can improve and expand our lives.

More particularly, Cuba is a close neighbor and we have a long shared history, and the more we understand each other the better our situation will be.”

LIFESTYLE

Student uses music as an outlet for expression

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By Andrea Martin C O P Y

E D I T O R

It’s Saturday night and you already regret wearing those shorts when you feel the wind hit you.

From outside of The Study, you can feel the bass from “Attention,”

by Charlie Puth fall in sync with your pulse.

Deian Pantoja, a senior majoring in communications, has mastered the bass and beats as DJ DXN to create memories for anyone who sees him.

Pantoja’s DJ career saw its first few sparks when he was in high school. Pantoja came across a Swedish DJ that was a former member of Swedish House Mafia.

“Axwell, I like his music the most,” Pantoja said. “That’s the very first DJ that got me into dance music and made me say, ‘Oh, what is he doing?’”

With this music being produced differently than what people normally picture when they think of an artist, Pantoja was immediately drawn to this genre.

This DJ ushered in unparalleled art that flooded Pantoja with inspirations.

“When I was a sophomore, I just started looking at everything, like the new genre of dance music that was coming in,” Pantoja said.

“That’s when it all started, all that culture started raising.”

Learning from his now favorites, Pantoja used his inspirations to find his own sound.

“A-Trak is the big name now that is still keeps DJing in the actual culture,” Pantoja said. “I look up to him. I look up his videos all the time to see how he’s doing it creatively.”

Late into Pantoja’s sophomore year at USF, he bought DJ

USF student Deian Pantoja, spins as DJ DXN at a tailgate for the last home game of the 2017 fall semester.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/ DEIAN PANTOJA

equipment from an alumnus of his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.

Soon after, Pantoja was able to find a gig with one of his friends.

His then-close friend and now fellow Phi Delta Theta brother, Ivan Cortes, found DJ DXN his first gig in Lakeland, Florida.

“I had no idea where I was going, I just said ‘let’s go,’” Pantoja said. “I had no idea what was going to happen.”

Pantoja was complimented by those who hosted the party, but he

knew he could do better.

In the past three years, he has learned the most important rule of being a DJ: learn to read the room.

Taking bits and pieces from what he saw online, watching famous producers and DJs along with feedback from his audiences, Pantoja has created a brand for DJ DXN. In the last two months, he secured a stable gig spinning at The Study on Fletcher Avenue every Saturday night.

“Comparing this past Saturday’s gig to my first gig, I actually knew what I was doing this time,” Pantoja said. “When I get to this gig, I’m relaxed. I’m not stressing at all because I know what I’m going to do, and I know I’m going to do it well. It’s perfect for me.”

Manuel Andres Cabal, a junior majoring in marketing, is one of Pantoja’s closest friends and greatest supporters. The two have known each other since the summer of 2016. Along the way,

Cabal has seen DJ DXN too many times to count.

“There are a couple things about watching DXN that really sets him apart from all the other college DJs around,” Cabal said.

“First off he doesn’t only play EDM like majority of these DJs play.

He knows how to read a crowd and pick and choose from any type of genre of music. This talent alone makes it so much more enjoyable and fun to watch his sets compared to any other DJ.” Besides frat parties and bar nights, DJ DXN has traveled to spin in Gainesville and Orlando.

For New Year’s Eve, he performed at a new bar in Fort Lauderdale called The Hideaway. Three weeks ago, he spun for the first time at a wedding.

“Deian also loves to get involved with the crowd, whether it’s getting the crowd hype through his microphone or something as simple as a ‘Happy Birthday’ shout-out,” Cabal said. “Deian has overcome so many obstacles and is achieving big things very quickly.”

Every step in Pantoja’s climb as DXN is captured on his social media. Pantoja markets himself to audiences across Florida through social media. He has an Instagram, @dxn.dj, where he recaps past gigs, and a Facebook, DXN DJ, where he announces future ones.

“I quit my regular job because I wanted to do this full time,” Pantoja said. “So I do gigs on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturday night.”

Pantoja has no plans to retire DJ DXN after his graduation.

“I’m definitely going to continue with this, but after I graduate I’m going to dedicate way more time into actually producing music, my own music,” Pantoja said.

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Crossword

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Classifieds To place a classified ad go to

http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds

ANNOUNCEMENTS Full-time File Clerk Full time file clerk needed for busy law firm. Qualified applicants are organized, detail oriented, possess a professional appearance and have the ability to operate general office equipment, identify documents, and file.

Must be able to work Monday through Friday 8am-4:30 pm or 9:00am-5:30 pm.

Please email resume to tampa.jobs@rissman.com and reference “File Clerk”.

Email tampa.jobs@rissman.com

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ULS

Continued from PAGE 3

According to a letter written

by MLK to Belafonte, this was a time of particular struggle within the movement as it faced economic challenges and saw supporters leaving due to mixed messaging.

“Our philosophy remains the same,” the letter stated.

“We are committed to militant, nonviolent social change. We feel that consciences must be enlisted in the movement rather than racial groups, so we continue to welcome the support and the cooperation of our white brothers. We have not given up on the dream of an integrated society however difficult it is to attain.”

After MLK’s assassination, Belafonte served as the executor of his estate and became the chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Fund.

He has continued to speak out for civil rights through

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fundraisers to supply support to people in Africa, serving as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and speaking out for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Mr. Belafonte’s lecture is unique in that he’s not necessarily a celebrity of the generation in which most of our students were born, but his word has had a significant impact on their lives,” Merryday said. “In this time of a modern resurgence of activism, ULS felt it would be important to connect our students’ experience back to where it all began.”

The speech will be held in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. It is open to both students and the public on a first-come first-serve basis, but students can reserve a seat ahead of time.

— Additional reporting by ­ Amanda Lopez

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USF takes fourth and eighth place at nationals, avenges last second mistake from 2017 competition Cheerleading

Men’s Basketball

Banks’ return not enough for Bulls against No. 14 Cincy

By Sam Newlon S T A F F

Competing at UCA Nationals in Orlando, USF all-girl cheerleading finished in fourth place, while co-ed finished eighth. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN

By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

E D I T O R

For USF cheerleaders, winter break wasn’t filled with rest and relaxation.

Instead, from Dec. 1 to Friday, both the all-girl and co-ed cheer squads practiced twice a day, every day, with the only break coming in the span of Dec. 23-26. What they were preparing for, the 2018 UCA College Cheerleading National Championship in Orlando, started on Saturday for both squads, with the all-girl team finishing fourth in the nation and the co-ed squad placing eighth after finals on Sunday.

“Every day in December is dedicated to the routine, all the way into January until we compete in Nationals on the fouth,” all-girl cheerleader Jazmyne McCloud said. “We’re also doing other sporting events and getting ready for the spring

semester. It can be a lot.”

In addition to the practices, both squads cheered at men’s and women’s basketball games throughout break and made the trip to Birmingham, Alabama, for USF football’s Birmingham Bowl.

Even at football games, however, the preparation for competition was still a priority.

“The whole year, we were just focusing on hitting our sets and making sure that we rep our stunts out so much,” McCloud said. “Our coach prepares us so much for the competition. At football games, we cannot drop our stunts at all, and if we do, we have to re-do the stunt 10 times after the game to instill — falling is not an option.”

For the all-girl squad, the goal entering this season was to finish in the top five in the nation and avenge last year’s seventh place finish, which they did with a spot to spare.

For McCloud and her teammates, what hurt even worse than the 7th-place finish last year was why the Bulls finished where they did.

After a nearly flawless routine, the all-girl squad messed up in the final moments of its performance and dropped the ending pyramid, which proved costly to the Bulls who were previously en route to a top five finish, according to McCloud.

“Last year I was an alternate, but being on the sidelines and watching the whole routine hit, and the very last pyramid falling at the very last second — everybody just went into a (collective sigh),” McCloud said. “Every second before the pyramid was perfect. You could even hear the whole arena feel that feeling too. It was just an ‘aw man’ moment because you spend all of December practicing and your whole month is dedicated to

cheerleading.

“A lot of people are even from out of state. They can’t even have a Christmas break because we’re practicing. You dedicate so much time and you want it to be worth it, you want it to be good and you want to represent your school in the best way possible. So yeah, it was devastating.”

Now that the competition is over, however, both squads have some time to catch up on the rest and relaxation they missed over break, which started with a free trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios after the competition.

“After the competition’s awards they blocked off the whole park and all the cheerleaders went and rode rides from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.,” McCloud said. “A park full of nothing but cheerleaders. It was interesting.”

W R I T E R

USF men’s basketball lost to No. 14 Cincinnati (15-2, 4-0) 78-55 when it hosted the Bearcats at the Sun Dome on Saturday night for an AAC matchup — despite an added boost with graduate transfer Payton Banks returning to the lineup.

Banks, who is the Bulls’ leading scorer, was called in to play after a three-game hiatus due to what Banks described as, “Being sick for a while and a combination of things just hitting me all at once.”

In his absence, no Bull produced a scoring performance above 16 points. In his return, Banks shot 80 percent from the three-point range and was USF’s leading scorer for the night with 22 points.

“He shot the ball well,” coach Brian Gregory said. “We got him some good looks. He moved without the ball. He obviously gave us a big boost.”

While Banks’ presence was prevalent on offense, Gregory wasn’t completely satisfied with his 6-foot-6 winger as he failed to bring down a single rebound.

“I want more from him,” Gregory said. “He can’t play 30 minutes and not get a rebound. I want perfection from him. I want five to six rebounds. I want no bad shots. I know you’re not going to get that, but that’s why you coach … We’ll figure out a way to get there.”

Guards Stephan Jiggetts and Terrence Samuel, the Bulls’

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USF dominates UCF on defense, downs Knights 62-45

Women’s Basketball

By Brian Hattab

C O R R E S P O N D E N T

After a bounce-back win against Temple on Wednesday night, USF women’s basketball (14-4, 4-1) was able to extend its winning streak to two with a 62-45 win against UCF (11-7, 3-2) Sunday afternoon at the Sun Dome.

The win gave USF sole possession of second place in the AAC standings, trailing only an undefeated No. 1 UConn.

The story of the game for the Bulls was defense as USF held the Knights to only 14 points in the first half.

“I thought we played really good team defense,” coach Jose Fernandez said. “We held them to one shot and out.”

In addition to defense, USF was a force on the boards, bringing down 48 total rebounds, 31 of them defensively. The Knights finished the game with 30 total rebounds.

In addition to being an important conference matchup, Sunday’s game was a bit of a revenge game for the Bulls. The last time the two teams met, UCF handed USF their first loss in the series between the schools since Dec. 10, 1980 and was UCF’s first

for us,” Flores said. “[Ferreira] did a really good job.”

Offensively, the Bulls were led by three scorers in double-figures.

Junior guard Kitija Laksa led all scorers with 16 points. Senior forward Maria Jespersen and Flores would finish with 13 and 14 points respectively.

“We definitely wanted to get inside-outside action,” sophomore Alyssa Rader said. “Especially with the abilities that we have on this team to shoot threes … to be able to get the ball in and distract them for a second.”

The win gave USF three points in the War on I-4 series between the two schools. UCF currently leads the annual competition 21-12.

“I think everybody makes the UCF-USF rivalry bigger than it is,” Fernandez said. “I think it was great what both athletic Last season, UCF defeated USF in the Sun Dome for the first time ever with a score of 66-62. In the loss, USF departments did with the War allowed UCF’s Aliyah Gregory to score 34 points. On Sunday, she recorded four. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN on I-4. But we’re playing for a different deal. I think our kids win in Tampa all-time. said. “We waited a year to get this scorers with 34 points. On Sunday, remember, last year, losing those The loss, at the time, also game back and I think we really the Bulls were able to hold her to two in a row at home. Losing to pushed USF out of the Associated prepared and practiced. We tried just four points thanks to the man- [UCF] and then coming back and Press Top 25 for the first time all to do different things than we did to-man defense of senior guard losing to Temple.” season. last year and it turned out good.”

Laura Ferreira.

Up next for USF is a trip to “It feels really good (to beat In the game last season, then“We knew if Gregory didn’t Memphis on Wednesday night.

UCF),” senior guard Laia Flores junior guard Aliyah Gregory led all have a good game, that was good Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

BANKS

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Winger Payton Banks scored a team high 22 points in his return against No. 14 Cincinnati on Saturday night. ORACLE PHOTO/MIKI SHINE

other two graduate transfers, complemented Banks’ scoring with nine and seven points, respectively.

“The challenge for those three guys in particular is they came here to do more,” Gregory said.

“That’s the challenge we need to present to them every day.”

The Bulls (7-11, 0-5) fell victim to a full court pressure by the Bearcats for the entirety of the game. They held the Bearcats close in the first half, entering the locker room trailing only 35-33. At the time, the Bulls were shooting 57 percent compared to the Bearcat’s 35.

Banks described coach Gregory’s halftime message after the game. “‘You guys are playing good,’” Banks said. “‘A lot of mistakes, but you’re playing hard to cover them up. Play hard, limit those mistakes, and we’re gonna be in pretty good shape to win the game.’”

As the game went on, the Bulls faltered, shooting only 25 percent in the second half.

“I thought that Cincinnati’s defensive pressure, not necessarily forcing turnovers, just overall defensive pressure, forcing some tough shots, some contested shots in the second half was probably the difference in the game.”

Gregory said. “And the fact that

you get minus-15 at the free throw line, it just puts you in a tough spot.”

When asked about the Bearcat’s persistent 94-foot pressure, Gregory said, “They kind of wear you down a bit.”

The Bulls continue their conference schedule on Wednesday when they play at East Carolina. The Bulls lost to the Pirates earlier this season by two points without Banks and his offensive clout in the lineup.

“It’s my job to knock down shots and help my team win,” Banks said. “That’s what we all tried to do today, but we’ve gotta get back on it, go on the road and try to get a win.”

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