By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, JAN. 12, 2016 – Nehemias Morillo poured in a career-high 20 points, but the Bulls couldn't hold onto a lead after the break in an 81-70 loss to Tulane on Tuesday night.

Morillo topped his previous career high by two points while going 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free throw line.

“He was engaged, he was active,” head coach Orlando Antigua said. “He didn't settle for threes. He got some drives, got some layups. Both he and Jahmal (McMurray) played solidly.”

Joining Morillo in double figures was McMurray, who scored 18 points and knocked down seven of 12 attempts from the floor on a night the Bulls shoot 50 percent (26-for-52). McMurray extended his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games and made two 3-pointers to help USF shoot 55 percent from long range (5-for-9).

Junior Chris Perry (Bartow, Fla.) continued to heat up with 12 points in his fourth double-digit scoring performance in the past five outings.

USF (3-15, 0-5) was on target early, shooting 50 percent from the field on the way to a 33-32 halftime lead. Leading the way with 12 points was Morillo, who started 4-for-4 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers.

USF grabbed an early advantage and took the lead back on a 3-pointer by Angel Nunez with 6:21 to go before halftime. The Bulls continued on a 10-2 run and Morillo's bucket from long range extended the lead to 29-23.

Tulane (8-10, 1-4) came in averaging 5.9 3-pointers per game but had seven by halftime. Louis Dabney's shot from beyond the arc capped off the scoring with 48 seconds remaining before the break.

“They made a couple of shots in that first half with hands in their face, clock running down and that happens some nights,” Antigua said. “I thought we did a better job in the second half and things got back to normal.”

The second half of Tuesday's back-and-forth battle featured two lead changes and four ties before Tulane jumped ahead for good with 15:20 to play.

Dylan Osetkowski tied for the team lead with 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Tulane finished with a 39-32 edge on the boards. Dabney also finished with 19 points, Melvin Frazier added 15 points and Malik Morgan joined his teammates in double figures with 13 points.

The Bulls look to bounce back at Memphis on Saturday at noon in a game televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. USF returns to the Sun Dome to host rival UCF on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.

The USF men's basketball team is led by Orlando Antigua, who is in his second season as the head coach after spending the previous six season as an assistant to Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari. USF has played the toughest schedule in the American Athletic Conference and one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA. USF has retired three numbers in its 45-year history: Chucky Atkins (12), Charlie Bradley (30) and Radenko Dobras (31). The Bulls have earned three NCAA tournament bids and appeared in the NIT eight times. In the 2011-12 season, USF was one win away from an appearance in the Sweet 16.