Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Jelani Hewitt scored 33 points to lead Georgia Southern to a 68-63 victory over South Florida on Monday.

Hewitt shot 9-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and Trent Wiedeman supplied 17 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (5-2), who bounced back from a 61-59 loss to UCF.

Chris Perry stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks and Nehemias Morillo chipped in 11 points and seven boards for the Bulls (5-4), who dropped their third straight game.

Georgia Southern came out of the break on fire, scoring the first 12 points for a 44-28 advantage less than four minutes into the second half.

The Eagles went cold as the Bulls rattled off eight straight points, with Dinero Mercurius' layup making it a 46-38 game with under 12 minutes to play.

A pair of Mercurius free throws pulled South Florida within 60-56 with under three minutes to play.

Perry's layup cut the deficit to three with 1:52 to go, but Hewitt's clutch 3- pointer 32 seconds later restored Georgia Southern's lead to 66-60.

Anthony Collins split a pair of free throws for the Bulls, but Mike Hughes' two free throws sealed the win for the Eagles.

Back-to-back triples from Hewitt capped a 10-0 run that gave Georgia Southern a 24-15 lead with 6:56 remaining in the first half.

Perry's jumper helped the Bulls whittle deficit down to three points with under three minutes to play and Corey Allen Jr. drained a trey as South Florida trailed 32-28 at halftime.