MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Terrence Leather snapped a tie at 64 by scoring with 26 seconds left, and the Bulls held on and upset Houston 69-64 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament.
The sixth-seeded Cougars (18-13) came in wanting to boost their chances of landing an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament.
But No. 11 seed South Florida (13-15) proved that Houston still can't win in the month of March, even under first-year coach Tom Penders. Houston now has lost eight straight games in March dating back to March 1, 2003.
The Bulls will play 21st-ranked Cincinnati in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
It wasn't easy for South Florida in a game that featured 10 lead changes and eight ties, the last at 64 off a driving layup by Lanny Smith with 50.5 seconds left. But Leather scored to put South Florida up 66-64. Smith tried to tie the game again with a spin move in the lane but missed.
The Cougars finished by hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:02.
Leather finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Brian Swift had 17, and Marlyn Bryant had 10. South Florida overcame 20 turnovers by keeping Houston in foul trouble, and the Bulls went 23-of-34 at the free throw line.
Smith finished with 21 points for Houston. Andre Owens had 14 of his 17 points in the second half, and Brian Latham had 12. Ramon Dyer had 10 before fouling out.
The Bulls came into this tournament having upset then-No. 18 Charlotte to wrap up the regular season, and the momentum carried into Wednesday night. They scored the first four points of the game and led by as much as 13 in the first half.
Owens singlehandedly turned a 34-33 halftime lead into a 45-38 margin with 13:39 left as he scored the first 11 points in the half for the Cougars.
South Florida came back with an 11-3 run, and the teams swapped the lead down the stretch before Leather took over.