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USF lost at Tulsa, then left two players behind at the airport

South Florida guard Troy Holston was one of the two players left behind. (Getty)
South Florida guard Troy Holston was one of the two players left behind. (Getty)

A deflating season for South Florida men’s basketball got even more embarrassing Friday when the team left two of its players behind at an airport in Houston.

The Bulls, 7-20 and 1-15 in the AAC, lost Thursday night at Tulsa, then flew to Houston, where they would board a connecting flight back to Tampa. However, according to the Tampa Bay Times, two players, Troy Holston and Geno Thorpe, fell asleep at the airport. Nobody noticed, and the two were left behind when the team’s flight took off.

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USF confirmed the mistake Saturday morning:

“Yesterday, as our team traveled back from Tulsa, two of our players were separated from the rest of our team when we boarded a connecting flight in Houston,” USF interim coach Murry Bartow, who took over for the fired Orlando Antigua in January, said in a statement. “This unfortunate circumstance, for which I apologize, was recognized by our staff as the plane was leaving the gate and not in time to get the players on the commercial flight.

“We immediately began to make arrangements to get the players on the very next flight to Tampa, and were in communication with them as soon as was possible. Both players arrived safely home in Tampa later that afternoon at approximately 4:25 p.m., where a staff member met them at the airport. They are joining the rest of the team in a charity activity today.”

Monique Holston-Greene, the mother of one of the players left behind, ripped the program shortly after hearing of the incident.

“It’s very disappointing, and it’s a reflection of how terrible a program the men’s basketball program is,” Holston-Greene, told the Tampa Bay Times.

She also went off on Twitter:

Well then … things seem to be going just fine at USF!

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