Highlights | Press Conference
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, Fla., NOV. 25, 2014 –  An 11-point deficit with less than 4 minutes remaining wasn't a problem for the resilient Bulls.
It was an opportunity.
Chris Perry delivered a go-ahead layup with 7 seconds left and the 4-1 Bulls held on for a thrilling 71-70 victory over Hofstra as a crowd of 3,228 rocked the Sun Dome on Tuesday night.
"To the kids' credit they just keep battling, they just keep competing," said head coach Orlando Antigua after the Bulls finished the game on an 18-6 run. "We talked about that before the game that's what we wanted to do. No matter what happens, let's just keep coming. Let's just keep being aggressive, let's keep attacking. Don't worry about the score whether we're up or we're down."
Hofstra (3-2) led by 15 points with 8:33 remaining and pumped its lead back up to 64-53 with the team's 11th 3-pointer of the night coming from Dion Nesmith.
"They were drawing us in and getting wide-open shots. That's a really well-coached team that makes wide-open shots," Antigua said.
The USF coaching staff then went with a smaller lineup and the switch proved to work while the Bulls got hot on the offensive end. Corey Allen Jr. (St. Louis, Mo.) made two of his career-high tying three 3-pointers in a span of 45 seconds.
"I was just trying to be locked and loaded when the ball came to me, and shoot with confidence," said Allen Jr., who finished with a season-high 18 points and five assists.
Dinero Mercurius' layup tied things up at 66-66 with 1:25 remaining and the lead changed hands three times as Juan'ya Green's free throws gave the Pride a 70-69 advantage with 37 seconds left on the clock.
"We're just not one of those teams that's going to lay down. We're just going to keep fighting until the end," Allen Jr. said.
Antigua called a timeout with 22 seconds remaining and his trust in the coaching staff paid dividends.
"You have to give Coach (Sergio) Rouco credit because he stayed in my ear, 'Get Chris back in, get Chris back in.' I'm looking at him, 'No, he hasn't given me that look I need. I need to have that look,'" Antigua said. "Finally I looked down at him. He gave me that little look like he was ready and I said, 'Alright, let's go Chris. You go make this play."
Perry had scored six points up to that point but the sophomore forward from Bartow, Fla., showed confidence in crunch time. Junior point guard Anthony Collins saw a mismatch and fed the ball down low to Perry, who outreached the defender for the ball and scored the biggest basket of the game with just 7 seconds remaining. Collins (Houston) tied his career-high 12 assists and added eight points.
"They deserve the credit. They made winning plays when they had to and we didn't," Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich said.
Green was one of four Hofstra players to score in double figures with 17 points but he didn't have much of a chance at winning it for the Pride. The junior guard drove down the court to his left and threw up a desperation shot that bounced off the side of the backboard with numerous Bulls leaping in his line of vision.
"They were clogging up the lane, so I couldn't get a good shot," Green said.
The Bulls' defense forced 14 turnovers overall and three in the final 4 minutes while the offense was efficient. USF shot turned the ball over just 10 times for the second consecutive game and shot better than 50 percent for the third time this season (52.5 percent overall, 56.3 percent in second half).
Joining Allen Jr. in double figures was junior guard Morillo (Dominican Republic), who posted a career-high 15 points. Redshirt freshman forward Bo Zeigler (Detroit) also set a new career high with 12 points.
Antigua and his players were happy to give credit to the crowd for giving the Bulls the lift they needed when the game was on the line.
"It was exciting. I just hope we can continue to get more students and more fans to come out to watch us and support because these guys are playing their hearts out for the school, for this team and for this program," Antigua said.
Fans will have another opportunity to catch the Bulls in action this week when they host Jacksonville 2 p.m. Saturday back at the Sun Dome. Purchase tickets HERE.
