USF Senior Writer

NEW ORLEANS, La., JAN. 11, 2015 – Head coach Orlando Antigua has wanted to get a full 40 minutes of effort and energy out of his Bulls all season and they gave him 45 on Sunday.

Anthony Collins provided the go-ahead basket near the end of regulation and USF played tough defense the whole way through a 56-51 overtime loss to Tulane at Devlin Fieldhouse.  Corey Allen Jr. posted a team-high 13 points while Bo Zeigler (12 points) and Troy Holston Jr. (11 points) helped the Bulls dominate in bench points by a 25-15 margin.

"I just told (the players) there were a lot of good things that came out of this game," Antigua said. "As far as the effort, the energy, for 45 minutes I thought it was there the entire game."

USF (7-10, 1-3) shook off 14 first-half turnovers and nearly pulled off another memorable comeback when Collins hit a jumper to give the Bulls a 46-45 lead with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.  Collins (Houston) now has 501 career assists after dishing out four with four points and three steals.

Freshman Ruben Guerrero (Spain) had another productive outing with a career-high 11 rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 37-31 advantage on the boards.

Conference player of the week Jonathan Stark was held to one point against the Bulls' stingy defense and his free throw forced overtime for Tulane (12-4, 3-1). Louis Dabney was Tulane's lone player in double figures with 25 points as the Green Wave shot 33 percent (15-for-45) with 15 turnovers.

Despite 14 turnovers, USF headed into halftime down, 22-17, thanks to a strong performance on the defensive end. Tulane went just 5-for-24 (20.8 percent) from the field and 1-for-8 from 3-point range with five turnovers.

USF also stayed within reach by grabbing an 18-12 advantage on the boards with 12 rebounds on the defensive end. Guerrero tied his previous career high with seven rebounds in the opening period while Allen Jr. led the scoring attack with six points.

The Bulls turned the ball over just five times in the next 25 minutes and started their comeback run near the midpoint of the second half. Keith Pinckey's free throws spotted Tulane a 41-29 lead with 12:03 remaining before Allen Jr.'s 3-pointer cut USF's deficit to 45-44 with 2 minutes left. Collins' clutch jumper capped off USF's 17-4 run before Stark forced overtime. Tulane went 22-for-27 from the free throw line while USF made four of its five attempts.

"We had some breakdowns, which are going to happen in a game, but for the most part we were really extremely happy with how we competed," Antigua said.

The Bulls look to bring the energy again when they host first-place Tulsa on Saturday, Jan. 17 with an 11 a.m. start at the Sun Dome (purchase tickets HERE). The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU. Tulsa (10-5, 3-0) is The American's last remaining unbeaten team in conference play.