Noriega makes most of his shot(s)

Shaun Noriega did what was asked of him by making one game-changing shot against Providence on Saturday.

But making two?

University of South Florida coach Stan Heath didn't want to be greedy, but his wish was Noriega's command in the briefest of cameos at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

Noriega's pair of 3-pointers put the Bulls in position to close out a 55-48 victory over the Friars, a win that lifted USF four games over .500 in Big East play for the first time since the Bulls joined the league in 2005.

Two free throws by freshman point guard Anthony Collins with 56.8 seconds to play put the Bulls on top for good, but it was Noriega who allowed USF to erase a 46-41 deficit on back-to-back possessions.

The North Port native needed only 50 seconds — in his only minute of playing time — to stick a pair of daggers into the heart of Providence's 2-3 zone defense, two shots from the left wing that gave the Bulls their fifth victory in their past six tries against the Friars and squared the all-time series between the teams at 6.

"I definitely knew my time was going to come," Noriega said. "We needed some shots at the end, and my coaches and teammates have faith in me."

Noriega hadn't played in four of USF's previous six games, and the 12 total minutes he earned on Jan. 24 against Marquette and Feb. 4 against Georgetown came in contests that the Bulls lost by a combined 50 points. The junior guard had gone from starter to afterthought before sealing a season sweep of the Friars, a stint that Heath had in mind when he addressed the team a day earlier.

"You never know when your turn is going to come," Heath said. "He perked up and had a pretty good practice (Friday)."

USF (15-10, 8-4 Big East) continued its surprising season by showing some grit in the final minute to pick up a sorely needed road win. The Bulls went 8-for-10 at the foul line to snap a two-game losing streak away from the Forum and improve to 3-9 in road and neutral games.

"We're trying to get to the NCAA tournament," Noriega said. "We need road wins like this."

Any victory at all would satisfy Providence (13-13, 2-11), which lost for the fourth time in its past five conference games. All four of those have come by seven points or fewer, including an 81-78 loss against USF on Jan. 29.

"It's not fun seeing those kids suffer," Friars coach Ed Cooley said. "We just need to get better."

The Bulls had their superb defense to thank for handing Noriega a chance to be the hero. Providence shot 30.8 percent, including a dreadful 1-for-12 from 3-point range.

USF paid special attention to Friars freshman LaDontae Henton, who exploded for 24 first-half points on his way to a career-high 33 in the first meeting between the teams this season. Henton was a pedestrian 3-for-8 in the rematch and finished with seven points.

"Much better job," Heath said. "Much better attention to detail against him."