Houston guard Jamal Shead (1) drives around Central Florida guard DeMarr Langford Jr. (12) during the first half of Wednesday's game in Orlando, Fla.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The cliché is top-ranked teams get their opponent’s best shot.
That was the case Wednesday night, as the University of Houston ran into a testy Central Florida squad looking to pull an upset on Senior Knight at Additional Financial Arena.
But after struggling throughout the contest, the No. 1 Cougars came to life midway during the second half, finding enough shooting and employing its always staunch defense to claim a 67-59 victory.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
With the win, Houston (27-3) clinched at least a tie for the regular-season championship in its first year in the Big 12. The Cougars could win the title outright with an Iowa State loss or a victory Saturday against Kansas at home. The Cyclones hosted BYU in a late game Wednesday night and play Saturday at Kansas State.
UCF, which had never hosted a No. 1-ranked team, held onto the lead until UH senior Jamal Shead drained a 3-pointer with 12:01 remaining to put Houston up 45-42.
It was a lead the Cougars never surrendered.
After managing only 28 points in the first half, UH shot nearly 50 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes to earn the tough road win.
UCF led the entire first half, taking a 35-28 lead into the break against the heavily favored Cougars.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The Cougars started the second half pretty much as they played the first one.
Shead missed a wide-open 3-pointer, the Cougars chased down the rebound, worked the ball around and he misfired on another one.
Until then, it was that kind of night. A Knights kind of night.
Already saddled with injuries that have depleted their depth, the Cougars saw starting forward Ja’Vier Francis leave the game three minutes into the second half with an ankle injury.
Shortly after that, Shead, an 80-percent free throw shooter, misfired on back-to-back tries from the line.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The sellout crowd could feel a victory coming.
The feeling didn’t last much longer.
After missing a little more than three minutes of game time, Francis returned.
Twenty-three seconds later, he was leaping on that injured ankle for a dunk. Then on the defensive end, he blocked a drive and raced up the court to grab an offensive rebound and throw down another slam.
The Cougars looked like the Cougars again.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
J’Wan Roberts blocked a shot and on the ensuing possession and Shead, who at the time was 0-for-5 on 3s, drained a long one to give UH its first lead at 45-42.
Percentages: FG .431, FT .500.
3-Point Goals: 8-24, .333 (Cryer 5-11, Shead 2-7, Sharp 1-4, Dunn 0-2).
Team Rebounds: 4. Team Turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: 3 (Francis 2, Roberts).
Turnovers: 9 (Cryer 2, Francis 2, Shead 2, Dunn, Sharp, Wilson).
Steals: 9 (Roberts 3, Shead 3, Sharp 2, Francis).
Technical Fouls: Dunn, 7:50 second.
Percentages: FG .455, FT .696.
3-Point Goals: 3-10, .300 (Johnson 2-4, C.Walker 1-2, Jones 0-1, Sellers 0-3).
Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 1.
Blocked Shots: 5 (Diallo 2, Allen, Payne, Sellers).
Turnovers: 17 (Diallo 5, Payne 3, Allen 2, Johnson 2, Langford 2, C.Walker, Sellers, Sylla).
Steals: 7 (C.Walker 2, Johnson 2, Allen, Diallo, Sellers).
Technical Fouls: Payne, 7:50 second.
.
The UCF crowd, so enthusiastic, so hopeful, was quiet for the first time all night.
Night night, Knights.
Every time UCF pulled a mild threat, UH would make a few defensive stops (UCF committed 18 turnovers), or L.J. Cryer, who led Houston with 25 points, would make a big shot.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
visit website
