USF Senior Writer

Augustus Gilchrist's jumper broke the game's final tie with 5:35 remaining and the USF men's basketball team held on tight for a 58-51 victory over No. 19 Louisville. The Bulls (19-11, 12-5) have won six of their last seven league games and have knocked loudly on the NCAA Tournament door with Wednesday's triumph at the KFC Yum! Center.

"I don't know history that well, but I know for me personally, it is," head coach Stan Heath said when asked if Wednesday's win was USF's biggest in program history.

Jawanza Poland posted a game-high 16 points and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick added 11 to lead a USF team that outscored the Cardinals, 30-16, in bench points. USF hasn't made the NCAA Tournament in 20 years and could now be in prime position to punch its ticket.

"Can they (keep us out)? I don't know. I hope not," Heath said. "It would be a little disservice to our league with how strong it is. We just have to keep winning and not think about it. We want to play great basketball down the stretch. We are starting to get better and we still have room for improvement."

Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith each had 14 for Louisville, which tied a season low in points in the Bulls' first victory over the Cardinals since joining the Big East and first since 1992.

Louisville (22-8, 10-7) will be the seventh seed in the upcoming Big East tournament.

Louisville took a 31-30 lead with 14:49 left and kept it for more than 2 minutes until Fitzpatrick's fast-break dunk gave the Bulls a 37-36 advantage.

Neither team scored again until there was 9:34 left when Smith's 3-pointer gave Louisville a lead that was short-lived. The game was tied twice before Gilchrist's jumper gave the Bulls a lead they never gave away. Poland came up huge when his 3-pointer pushed USF's advantage to 48-42 with 3:05 remaining.

It wasn't in cruise control to the final buzzer, however. It was a three-point game until Poland's jumper with 1:19 remaining gave the Bulls some breathing room.

Kuric answered with a 3-pointer that got Louisville back within three with 40 seconds remaining.

Fitzpatrick, Collins and Victor Rudd. Jr. combined to make five of six free throws that put it away with USF holding a 56-48 advantage with 17 seconds left.

"Whew, it was an eternity," said Heath of the final 3 minutes. "I kept checking to make sure that the timer was pushing the right button. We did what we're supposed to do. We closed extremely well, made free throws, got the ball to the right guys."

USF brought its defense early, holding the Cardinals to 27 percent from the floor on the way to grabbing a 22-17 halftime lead. The 17 points marked Louisville's lowest total in any half this season.

"We got off to a great start and we set the tone defensively," Heath said.

The Bulls ability to control the boards had a lot to do with the lead as well. USF outrebounded Louisville, 20-14, with 16 of the Bulls' rebounds coming on the defensive end. Anderson Jr. led the way with four points and four rebounds for a team that went to the free throw line just two times.

Kuric led Louisville with seven points despite the team going to the line only once. The Bulls committed just three personal fouls.