By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

ORLANDO, MARCH 10, 2016 – USF is moving on at the American Athletic Conference Championship after a 71-66 victory over eighth-seeded East Carolina in the first round.

Ninth-seeded USF (8-24) made school history on Thursday afternoon by posting the program's first conference tournament victory in The American. The reward is a quarterfinal meeting with top-seeded Temple on Friday at noon back at the Amway Center.

“I'm really happy for our kids because we push them, we're on them and we're challenging them. We're doing all those things, so they can have and taste some success,” head coach Orlando Antigua said. “… I'm really happy for them.”

Graduate student Angel Nunez sported a big smile in the postgame press conference after tying his season high with 19 points and matching his career high with 11 rebounds. Nunez went 7-for-12 from the field and made a pair of 3-pointers.

“I'm really happy and excited about his effort on the boards, and not settling,” Antigua said.

Junior Chris Perry was the other half of USF's dynamic duo with 18 points and five rebounds that helped the Bulls finish with a 43-41 edge on the boards.

“Chris in the second half gave us big, big minutes and big rebounds,” Antigua said. “We need that kind of performance from both of those guys.”

Senior Nehemias Morillo also stepped up with eight points and four assists, while a relentless effort on defense helped keep USF ahead for most of the second half. The Bulls racked up six blocks and five steals in their second win over ECU this season. The Pirates (12-20) shot just 36 percent (24-for-66) and went 6-for-30 from long range.

“We wanted to make sure our guards and our wings were very active in our zone and getting to the shooters,” Antigua said. “I thought if we could make them take contested shots and rebound the ball after that, we would be in good position. Our guys gave us great effort in doing that.”

The Bulls rejected five shots in the opening period and a continuous commitment to defense paid off. Morillo's free throw gave USF a 28-27 lead at the end of a first half that saw the Pirates lead for 13:08.

ECU started the game on a 7-0 run, but a dunk by Perry gave the Bulls a 10-9 lead almost nine minutes in. Nunez stepped up with five points during a 9-0 run that boosted USF ahead, 24-20, with 3:35 remaining. Perry and Nunez led the Bulls with eight points apiece in the first half.

ECU was held scoreless for four minutes during the Bulls' run and shot 34 percent (11-for-32) in the opening half. Ruben Guerrero and Jaleel Cousins each had two of USF's five total blocks.

ECU forced a 42-42 tie with 12 minutes remaining in the second half and USF got the lead back less than a minute later on a layup by Cousins. Clinging to a 44-43 lead, USF distanced itself with a 7-0 run and a Jahmal McMurray jumper pumped the advantage up to 51-43 with 8:26 to go. McMurray finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists.

Lance Tejada's layup with 2:48 remaining cut ECU's deficit to 60-58, but that's as close as the Pirates got to the Bulls the rest of the way. USF answered back less than a minute later with Bo Zeigler's tip-in and Cousins' thunderous dunk made it 64-58 Bulls with 1:24 left.

Ahead by three, McMurray's free throws sealed the victory with 31 seconds remaining. Nunez put the exclamation mark on his best game as a Bull with a highlight-reel block 11 seconds later..

“It was a good team effort,” Perry said.

Purchase tickets for Friday's game through the USF Ticket Office online at USFBullsTix.com. Fans unable to make it to Orlando to watch USF-Temple can catch the game on ESPN2.

“I know we're just going to bring the intensity, bring the physicality and see where it goes from there,” Perry said.

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 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.