By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, FEB. 17, 2015 – Clutch free throw shooting and tough defense helped the Bulls hold on for a wild 69-67 win over Houston on Tuesday night at the Sun Dome.

USF went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 38 seconds before Houston's shot at a game-winner rimmed out as the buzzer sounded in a matchup that featured six lead changes and five ties. Bo Zeigler provided the go-ahead bucket with 6:49 remaining and the Bulls stayed ahead by limiting the Cougars to 29 percent shooting from the field in the second half.

"It's good for them to get a little bit of the reward for their hard work. We just have to try to see if we can continue to build on that," head coach Orlando Antigua said.

USF (8-19, 2-12) shot 51 percent from the field, its best output since a win over Hofstra on Nov. 25, and finished with four players in double figures. Troy Holston Jr. poured in a career-high 18 points and Zeigler added 11 points in his 11^th start of the season.

Anthony Collins finished with 13 points and dished out six assists while moving into second place all-time at USF in the category. The junior from Houston now has 537 assists and he's 95 away from tying career leader Reggie Kohn.

"It feels good," Collins said. "I have to thank my teammates right now and my past teammates for basically finishing everything I gave them. I want to thank all them and my coaches."

USF headed into halftime down, 41-36, and put itself into a position to win by tightening things up on the glass. Houston pulled down 11 of its 15 total offensive rebounds in the first half but the Bulls ruled the boards in the second half by a 25-16 margin.

Houston (9-16, 1-12) knocked down six 3-pointers in the first half but went just 2-for-12 from long range after the break. The Bulls forced seven turnovers in the second half that saw the Cougars go 8-for-27 from the field.

"I thought defensively that second half was as good as we've defended," Antigua said. "I wanted to make sure the team knew that's how you win – that kind of effort, that kind of concentration and that kind of commitment to one another to do their job to finish off possessions like that."

USF finishes up the week with a road trip to Greenville, N.C., where they'll face East Carolina on Saturday at 11 a.m. (TV: ESPNU).  The Bulls meet back up with the Cougars in Houston on Sunday, March 1 before heading back to the Sun Dome to host in-state rival UCF on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPNU and fans can purchase tickets HERE.