TAMPA, Fla. -- TaShawn Thomas scored 13 points to lead Houston to a 67-58 victory over South Florida on Saturday.

Danrad Knowles and Tione Womack each had 12 points and Jherrod Stiggers finished with 11 for Houston. The Cougars (10-5) improved to 2-0 in the American Athletic Conference, coming in off an upset of No. 17 Connecticut on New Year's Eve.

Martino Brock had 11 points and Chris Perry added 10 to pace South Florida (9-6, 0-2), which has dropped four of five games since an 8-2 start.

USF, which never led after scoring the first four points of the game, failed to convert all 10 of its 3-point attempts en route to a 34-26 halftime deficit. The Bulls also committed eight turnovers and had seven shots blocked before the break.

After missing 26 shots in a row from long range in a span of three games, South Florida broke through midway through the second half on a 3-pointer by Musa Abdul-Aleem. The Bulls hit four more to finish 5 for 21.

Thomas, a junior forward, became the 13th player in school history to record at least 1,100 points and 700 rebounds with his four rebounds.

USF starting point guard Anthony Collins, a Houston native, missed his fifth consecutive game with swelling and tendinitis in his surgically repaired left knee.

Houston played without three injured starters -- forward J.J. Richardson and guards Daniel House and L.J. Rose.