No. 1 Houston tops UCF 67-59 to clinch at least a share of Big 12 title in 1st season in conference
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) L.J. Cryer scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lift No. 1 Houston to a 67-59 comeback victory over UCF on Wednesday night that clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title in the Cougars' first season in the conference.
Houston, which moved from the American Athletic Conference, has won either a conference tournament or regular-season title in six straight seasons.
“We knew the Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball,” Cougars forward J’Wan Roberts said. “Houston has been a winning program for a long time. It didn’t really matter which conference we ended up going in, once we traveled with our DNA and our toughness, I feel like we can compete with anybody in the nation.”
Houston (27-3, 14-3) led by nine after Cryer's 3-pointer with 2:18 to play. UCF (15-14, 6-11) closed within four with just over a minute left, but Cryer hit another clutch shot to pull away.
The Cougars trailed by as many as seven points and never led in the first half. They did not take their first lead until Jamal Shead drained a 3 to make it 45-42 with about 12 minutes to play.
Houston’s defense stifled UCF throughout the second half, holding the Knights to one field goal over nearly five minutes to take control of the game.
“I feel like there were some turnovers in there for sure,” UCF guard Darius Johnson said. “We were playing on the perimeter and allowing them to be comfortable on D.”
Shead finished with 16 points and eight assists. Roberts had 12 points and seven rebounds. Cryer shot 9 of 17 from the floor, including 5 of 11 on 3-pointers.
“Coach tells me to keep shooting no matter if I am making or missing,” Cryer said. “Once I got going, they did a great job putting the ball in my hands and my teammates did a great job trusting me with the ball. We went out there and did what we did.”
C.J. Walker led UCF with 15 points. Jaylin Sellers added 12.
The Knights shot 45.5% for the game. They held the Cougars to 37.5% shooting and 2 for 11 from 3 in the first half.
Houston forced 18 turnovers and scored 22 points off them.
UCF had just four points off 10 forced turnovers.
BIG PICTURE
Houston: The Cougars can clinch an outright conference title with a win in their last game of the regular season against No. 14 Kansas on Saturday or a loss by sixth-ranked Iowa State at Kansas State.
UCF: The Knights need one more win to guarantee they will finish above .500 and get in position to receive one of the Big 12's automatic bids to the NIT.
UP NEXT
Houston: At home against Kansas on Saturday.
UCF: Closes its regular season Saturday on the road against TCU.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 |  | Ja'Vier Francis vs. Ibrahima Diallo (C.J. Walker gains possession) | ||
| 19:42 | | +2 | C.J. Walker makes two point hook shot | 0-2 |
| 19:16 |  | Ja'Vier Francis turnover (double dribble) | ||
| 18:48 | | Ibrahima Diallo misses two point hook shot | ||
| 18:46 | | Ibrahima Diallo offensive rebound | ||
| 18:44 | | Ibrahima Diallo turnover (out of bounds) | ||
| 18:27 | | Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot | ||
| 18:25 | | Darius Johnson defensive rebound | ||
| 18:13 | | Ibrahima Diallo turnover (bad pass) (Emanuel Sharp steals) | ||
| 18:08 | | Jaylin Sellers blocks Emanuel Sharp's two point driving layup | ||
| 18:06 | | Shemarri Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 18:00 | | Emanuel Sharp shooting foul (Jaylin Sellers draws the foul) | ||
| 18:00 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 0-3 |
| 18:00 | | Jaylin Sellers misses regular free throw 2 of 3 | ||
| 18:00 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 0-4 |
| 17:47 | | L.J. Cryer misses three point jump shot | ||
| 17:45 | | C.J. Walker defensive rebound | ||
| 17:40 | | +2 | Jaylin Sellers makes two point driving finger roll layup (Shemarri Allen assists) | 0-6 |
| 17:20 | | J'Wan Roberts misses two point hook shot | ||
| 17:18 | | J'Wan Roberts offensive rebound | ||
| 17:16 | | +2 | J'Wan Roberts makes two point layup | 2-6 |
| 17:05 | | +2 | C.J. Walker makes two point driving layup | 2-8 |
| 16:50 | | Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot | ||
| 16:48 | | Emanuel Sharp offensive rebound | ||
| 16:46 | | Shemarri Allen personal foul (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul) | ||
| 16:26 | | +2 | Ja'Vier Francis makes two point hook shot (Jamal Shead assists) | 4-8 |
| 16:05 | | Ja'Vier Francis shooting foul (Ibrahima Diallo draws the foul) | ||
| 16:05 | | Ibrahima Diallo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 16:05 | | +1 | Ibrahima Diallo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-9 |
| 15:56 | | Omar Payne blocks Emanuel Sharp's two point layup | ||
| 15:54 | | J'Wan Roberts offensive rebound | ||
| 15:51 | | +2 | J'Wan Roberts makes two point hook shot | 6-9 |
| 15:36 | | Omar Payne turnover (lost ball) (J'Wan Roberts steals) | ||
| 15:25 | | Jamal Shead misses two point layup | ||
| 15:23 | | Jamal Shead offensive rebound | ||
| 15:21 | | +2 | Jamal Shead makes two point putback layup | 8-9 |
| 14:50 | | +2 | Thierno Sylla makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 8-11 |
| 14:19 | | Jamal Shead misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 14:17 | | J'Wan Roberts offensive rebound | ||
| 14:14 | | L.J. Cryer misses three point jump shot | ||
| 14:10 | | Knights defensive rebound | ||
| 14:10 | | TV timeout | ||
| 13:42 | | Antwann Jones misses three point jump shot | ||
| 13:40 | | Thierno Sylla offensive rebound | ||
| 13:33 | | Antwann Jones misses two point jump shot | ||
| 13:31 | | L.J. Cryer defensive rebound | ||
| 13:10 | | +2 | J'Wan Roberts makes two point hook shot | 10-11 |
| 12:45 | | Shemarri Allen misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 12:43 | | L.J. Cryer defensive rebound | ||
| 12:35 | | J'Wan Roberts misses two point layup | ||
| 12:33 | | Omar Payne defensive rebound | ||
| 12:29 | | L.J. Cryer personal foul (Shemarri Allen draws the foul) | ||
| 12:24 | | C.J. Walker misses two point jump shot | ||
| 12:22 | | Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound | ||
| 12:10 | | Darius Johnson personal foul (Jamal Shead draws the foul) | ||
| 11:48 | | Cougars turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 11:48 | | TV timeout | ||
| 11:27 | | +2 | Ibrahima Diallo makes two point layup | 10-13 |
| 11:03 | | Damian Dunn misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:59 | | Cougars offensive rebound | ||
| 10:58 | | L.J. Cryer misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:56 | | Ibrahima Diallo defensive rebound | ||
| 10:56 | | Damian Dunn personal foul (Ibrahima Diallo draws the foul) | ||
| 10:34 | | +2 | Darius Johnson makes two point pullup jump shot | 10-15 |
| 10:10 | | Damian Dunn misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 10:08 | | Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound | ||
| 10:08 | | Ibrahima Diallo personal foul (Ja'Vier Francis draws the foul) | ||
| 10:06 | | Ja'Vier Francis misses two point jump shot | ||
| 10:04 | | Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound | ||
| 10:01 | | Ja'Vier Francis turnover (lost ball) (Ibrahima Diallo steals) | ||
| 9:44 | | Ibrahima Diallo turnover (lost ball) (J'Wan Roberts steals) | ||
| 9:21 | | +2 | J'Wan Roberts makes two point hook shot | 12-15 |
| 9:05 | | Marchelus Avery misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:03 | | Jamal Shead defensive rebound | ||
| 8:54 | | Emanuel Sharp misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 8:49 | | Knights defensive rebound | ||
| 8:37 | | +3 | Darius Johnson makes three point jump shot (Jaylin Sellers assists) | 12-18 |
| 8:15 | | Thierno Sylla shooting foul (Jamal Shead draws the foul) | ||
| 8:15 | | +1 | Jamal Shead makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 13-18 |
| 8:15 | | +1 | Jamal Shead makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 14-18 |
| 7:52 | | +3 | Darius Johnson makes three point jump shot (Shemarri Allen assists) | 14-21 |
| 7:24 | | +2 | Jamal Shead makes two point layup | 16-21 |
| 7:16 | | TV timeout | ||
| 7:05 | | +2 | C.J. Walker makes two point dunk (Shemarri Allen assists) | 16-23 |
| 6:35 | | +2 | J'Wan Roberts makes two point hook shot | 18-23 |
| 6:21 | | +2 | C.J. Walker makes two point pullup jump shot | 18-25 |
| 6:10 | | Mylik Wilson turnover (bad pass) (Darius Johnson steals) | ||
| 6:03 | | Mylik Wilson personal foul (C.J. Walker draws the foul) | ||
| 5:54 | | Darius Johnson misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 5:52 | | Omar Payne offensive rebound | ||
| 5:46 | | Omar Payne turnover (lost ball) (J'Wan Roberts steals) | ||
| 5:32 | | Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:30 | | C.J. Walker defensive rebound | ||
| 5:24 | | Jaylin Sellers turnover (lost ball) (Emanuel Sharp steals) | ||
| 5:06 | | Damian Dunn misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:04 | | DeMarr Langford Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 4:47 | | Jaylin Sellers misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:45 | | Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound | ||
| 4:38 | | +2 | Jamal Shead makes two point driving layup | 20-25 |
| 4:17 | | DeMarr Langford Jr. turnover (bad pass) | ||
| 3:53 | | TV timeout | ||
| 3:49 | | +3 | L.J. Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists) | 23-25 |
| 3:32 | | Emanuel Sharp shooting foul (Jaylin Sellers draws the foul) | ||
| 3:32 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 23-26 |
| 3:32 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 23-27 |
| 3:20 | | L.J. Cryer misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:18 | | Mylik Wilson offensive rebound | ||
| 3:10 | | +3 | L.J. Cryer makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists) | 26-27 |
| 2:47 | | Shemarri Allen misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 2:45 | | Knights offensive rebound | ||
| 2:29 | | Mylik Wilson shooting foul (Jaylin Sellers draws the foul) | ||
| 2:29 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-28 |
| 2:29 | | +1 | Jaylin Sellers makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-29 |
| 2:12 | | Jamal Shead misses two point hook shot | ||
| 2:10 | | Darius Johnson defensive rebound | ||
| 1:58 | | Ibrahima Diallo turnover (traveling) | ||
| 1:42 | | Jamal Shead turnover (bad pass) (Jaylin Sellers steals) | ||
| 1:36 | | Damian Dunn shooting foul (Jaylin Sellers draws the foul) | ||
| 1:36 | | Jaylin Sellers misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 1:36 | | Jaylin Sellers misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 1:36 | | Damian Dunn defensive rebound | ||
| 1:19 | | Shemarri Allen blocks Damian Dunn's three point jump shot | ||
| 1:17 | | Darius Johnson defensive rebound | ||
| 1:06 | | Ibrahima Diallo offensive foul (Ja'Vier Francis draws the foul) | ||
| 1:06 | | Ibrahima Diallo turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 1:06 | | Cougars 30 second timeout | ||
| 0:43 | | +2 | Ja'Vier Francis makes two point dunk (J'Wan Roberts assists) | 28-29 |
| 0:17 | | Ja'Vier Francis blocks Darius Johnson's two point layup | ||
| 0:15 | | Darius Johnson offensive rebound | ||
| 0:13 | | +2 | Darius Johnson makes two point layup | 28-31 |
| 0:03 | | L.J. Cryer turnover (lost ball) (C.J. Walker steals) | ||
| 0:01 | | C.J. Walker misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |