USF 69, Houston 67: Troy Holston Jr. scored a career-high 18 points and the host Bulls held on to snap an 11-game losing streak.

Anthony Collins had 13 points, six assists and three steals for USF (8-19, 2-12 American Athletic Conference), which last won Jan. 3 against East Carolina. Bo Zeigler chipped in 11 points as the Bulls shot 51 percent from the floor.

L.J. Rose scored 16 of his career-high 25 points in the first half to lead the Cougars (9-16, 1-12), who have lost four straight to sink into last place in the conference. Devonta Pollard finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds while LeRon Barnes had nine points for Houston.

After Holston made four straight free throws and Collins scored for an eight-point advantage near the four-minute mark, the hosts had three turnovers and five missed foul shots in a short stretch and Rose hit two at the line to get his team within 62-59 with 44 seconds left. Jherrod Stiggers and Rose both made 3-pointers in the closing seconds to help Houston get as close as 68-67, but Corey Allen Jr. hit 1-of-2 at the line and Wes VanBeck's potential game-winning 3-point try was off before the buzzer.

The Bulls scored the game's first six points and opened a 9-2 lead on Nehemias Morillo's 3-pointer less than six minutes in, but Houston nailed six 3-pointers in the final nine-plus minutes of the first half and ended it on an 8-0 run to charge ahead 41-36. Rose's basket gave the Cougars a 48-42 lead with 12 minutes left before Zeigler had a dunk and later a three-point play to help push USF in front 55-52 with under seven minutes to go.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Stiggers, Houston's leading scorer, had six points on 2-of-9 shooting after sitting out a game due to a suspension. ... Holston was 6-of-6 at the line, while his teammates went 9-of-20. ... Rose hit five 3-pointers but the Cougars were just 8-of-30 from beyond the arc.