RALEIGH, N.C. -- So many things went wrong for Providence as the Friars tried to figure out a way to pull out a first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament.

But the Friars were never out of chances and forward Rodney Bullock scored on a lay-in off an inbounds play with 1.4 seconds to play, and Providence knocked off the Southern California Trojans 70-69 on Thursday night at PNC Arena.

"They trusted me on the last shot and I made it," Bullock said.

Several empty possessions in the final minute appeared to doom the Friars, but they kept getting additional opportunities and finally converted. Bullock was left alone in the lane and scored.

"We found Rodney. Right place, right time," Providence coach Ed Cooley said. "My man delivered for us. Delivered us a great win."

Ninth-seeded Providence will face East Region top seed North Carolina in Saturday night's second round.

"I still can't believe we won the game," Cooley said, pointing to foul troubles and building frustrations. "I don't think we played well. But the guys had resiliency and we executed down the stretch when we needed to."

Friars guard Kris Dunn's 3-point basket with 1:15 to play tied the game at 68-all. That set up a wild finish.

"I knew what it feels to be on the other end," Dunn said.

USC forward Bennie Boatwright broke the tie with a free throw at the 59-second mark.

After that, Providence missed two shots with a chance to regain the lead. Dunn had a leaner from about 10 feet that bounced away.

Trojans guard Elijah Stewart missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Providence used its last timeout with 22 seconds to play.

Friars forward Ben Bentil had two shots blocked in the low post, but Providence retained possession.

Another missed free throw by the Trojans' Julian Jacobs gave the Friars another chance. Dunn missed in the lane, but the Friars had an inbounds play with three seconds left along the baseline that allowed Bullock to deliver the game-winning basket.

"When I slipped off (the screen), I was wide open," Bullock said. "A lot of stuff was going on and I just called for the ball."

USC coach Andy Enfield saw his defense do a couple of good things on the last play, but there was the costly breakdown.

"It looks like we took the first and second options away," Enfield said. "(Then) they made a great play and we made a mistake."

The Friars figured that a season full of highs and lows prepared them for the last minute.

"It's not the first time we've been in this situation," guard Kyron Cartwright said. "We've been in close games all year."

Bentil scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half, while Dunn and Bullock both finished with 16 points. Cartwright had 10 points for Providence (24-10).

Bullock, a sophomore, came through with the final highlight.

"He had an up and down year, but I believe he really saved his best for tonight," Cooley said.

It was a bitter result for the Trojans.

"I'm not going to say anything negative about our team," Enfield said. "We just missed a couple of shots and had a couple critical turnovers down the stretch."

Guard Jordan McLaughlin had 15 points and forward Nikola Jovanovic had 14 points for the Trojans, while Boatwright had 11 points for Southern California (21-13).

Providence fell into a 60-53 hole but used an 8-0 run to regain the lead and set up a back-and-forth finish.

USC led 36-35 at halftime, though Providence held a slight edge throughout most of the first half.

The Trojans shot 53.6 percent from the field in the opening half.

Providence led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Friars posted only one field goal in the last four minutes.

Dunn picked up his second foul with 8:41 left in the first half and headed to the bench. The guard had three points at the break.

NOTES: USC made the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 2011. ... This was Providence's third consecutive year in the NCAA Tournament, but the Friars entered the game without a victory in the tournament since 1997. ... The lone previous meeting came with Providence's 59-53 victory Jan. 26, 1972, in Los Angeles. ... USC's only previous game in Raleigh came in the second game of the 1964-65 season in a loss to North Carolina State. ... USC's scoring leader is G Jordan McLaughlin at 13.4 points per game, though the Trojans have six players checking in at 9.8 or more. ... Before Thursday, the last time USC played on St. Patrick's Day was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, when it defeated Boston College.