USF Senior Writer

RALEIGH, N.C., NOV. 23, 2014 – No-quit USF continues to impress first-year head coach Orlando Antigua early in the season.

The Bulls had a chance at forcing overtime in the final seconds after trailing by 11 with 2:57 remaining, but Corey Allen Jr.'s desperation 3-point attempt from about 42 feet rimmed out as NC State escaped with a 68-65 win at PNC Arena on Sunday night.

"They battled. The resiliency that we're showing, particularly this early this season, we're happy with that and not happy with the result," said Antigua of the 3-1 Bulls. "It's something we can continue to build on."

Allen Jr. (St. Louis, Mo.) posted a team-high 14 points despite playing with four fouls as USF shot 47.3 percent from the field.  Nehemias Morillo (Dominican Republic) registered his second double-digit scoring game of the season with 11 points and added seven rebounds.

Sophomore Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) finished in double figures for the fourth consecutive game this season with 10 points despite fouling out with 1:15 remaining. Junior point guard Anthony Collins (Houston) also turned in a strong performance eight points and a season-high eight assists.

"I think Anthony did a great job," Antigua said. "Toward the end of the game he started making some big plays for us, taking some big shots, and we've just got to get him to continue to do that throughout the course of the game."

NC State (4-0) built a 65-56 lead with less than 3 minutes remaining but saw the advantage dip down to 65-60 after steal by Collins and a jumper by Allen Jr. with 1:25 remaining. Anthony Barber answered with a free throw before a three-point play by Allen Jr. cut the deficit to 66-63 with 1:07 remaining.

Allen Jr. got the Bulls within two with a layup with 3 seconds remaining and NC State picked up a valuable point on a free throw shot by Desmond Lee 1 second later. USF's rally ended when Allen's last-second look rimmed out, but Antigua was proud of the Bulls' effort at the end of their first road trip of the season. The Bulls started the five-day trip away from Tampa with a 73-71 overtime win at UAB on Thursday night.

"I thought this road trip was great for us in terms of bonding, getting away from our normal routine and having to be with each other a lot," Antigua said. "I thought it was very, very beneficial for us."

Trevor Lacey led NC State with a game-high 21 points and Barber added 10 points. A key for the Wolfpack was outrebounding USF, 40-33, and grabbing 24 boards on the defensive end.

USF returns to the Sun Dome 7 p.m. Tuesday to host Hofstra and Antigua hopes a large turnout can give the Bulls a home court advantage. Purchase tickets HERE.

"Hopefully we can get our fans to come out and watch these guys as they're battling and competing. They're playing an exciting style," Antigua said.