SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Bulls showed college basketball experts they can keep a powerhouse in check.
The USF men's basketball team led the No. 2 Orange for a good portion of the first half and hung tight after the break in a 56-48 loss at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday.
"I'm proud of the way our guys fought back in the second half, but we know we didn't play our game tonight," USF head coach Stan Heath said.
Anthony Collins led the Bulls with 12 points and 10 assists in the team's first loss in the past five games. Toarlyn Fitzpatrick was the other USF player in double figures with 11 points after going 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Scoop Jardine and C.J. Fair combined for 28 points to help the Orange (28-1, 15-1) improve to 18-0 at home this season.
USF (17-11, 10-5) gave the Big East's top team a stiff jab by going on a 20-7 run to start the game. The momentum and lead were short-lived, however, with the Orange countering with 17-0 run to head into halftime.
The Bulls' final field goal of the first half came on a jumper by Collins with 8:53 to go before the break.
Syracuse ended up scoring 26 straight points before Hugh Robertson's dunk ended USF's scoring drought with 17:30 remaining in the contest.
The Bulls clawed their way within five before the Orange pushed their lead back up to 12 with 9:29 remaining, but USF was far from finished.
A layup by Fitzpatrick cut Syracuse's lead to 47-44 with 7:14 remaining and Collins followed with a jumper to get within one.
USF had a chance at the lead when Augustus Gilchrist's 3-point attempt missed. Jardine got a bucket and foul shot on the other end to get Syracuse's lead back up to four with less than five minutes to go.
The Bulls trailed, 54-48, with less than a minute remaining when Collins' 3-pointer missed and forced the Bulls to foul the rest of the way. Two more 3-point misses and a foul stalled USF's last-ditch effort before the final buzzer.
Defense was just as advertised for the Bulls, who held Syracuse to 34 percent from the field and under the 60-point mark for the just the third time this season.
USF looks to keep building its NCAA Tournament resume at noon on Sunday when it hosts Cincinnati at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
"We can grow a lot from this and now we need to get back to business and get a win at home on Sunday," Heath said.
