Men's Basketball Sports

No. 10 Houston men’s basketball tested in slim win over UCF

Houston Cougars forward J’Wan Roberts (13) looks on as he waits for the ball to be put back into play during the second half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar

No. 10 Houston men’s basketball trailed by as much as 12 but rallied in the second half against UCF in a come-from-behind thriller, punctuated by a game winning layup from graduate forward J’Wan Roberts’ to seal the Cougars’ 69-68 victory for Houston’s 10th straight win. 

A driving layup by junior guard Keyshawn Hall gave UCF the lead with just nine seconds remaining, erupting the home crowd.

After opting to play on immediately after Hall’s score, Houston was compelled to take a timeout with 3.2 seconds remaining.

After UCF’s defense swarmed the initial inbound attempt, Houston was forced to make a second read. Junior guard Milos Uzan tossed the inbound pass right into the hands of Roberts, who made the crowd silencer. 

UCF statistically allows the most points per game in the Big 12 but didn’t look the part early on. The Cougars struggled to generate quality looks at the rim and turned the ball over four times by the first media timeout at 15:44.

Houston came into the contest as the second-best 3-point shooting team in the nation at 41.5%, but couldn’t find the range until graduate guard L.J. Cryer sunk the team’s first three of the game with 7:40 remaining in the first half.

A 5-0 run by Houston in the late stages of the first half trimmed UCF’s lead to 30-24, but the Knights quickly responded with four quick points and ended the half up 38-30.

This marked the most points Houston gave up in any half his season, and the first time they entered the break trailing. 

At intermission, senior forward Ja’Vier Francis, led all scorers with a season-high 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

The Cougars’ lone three was courtesy of Cryer; they otherwise shot 1-of-8 from behind the 3-point line.

Whatever words coach Kelvin Sampson had for the team during the break paid dividends, as the Cougars opened the second half on a 9-0 run, giving them their first lead of the game.

Redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp, who drained his first triple as a part of the 9-0 run emerged from halftime revitalized. He also timely deflected the ball off of a UCF defender late in the game to keep the ball in Houston’s hands.

However, nobody was more impactful for Houston in the second half than Roberts, behind his 17-point explosion on 8-10 shooting. 

There were 11 lead changes in the second half and four in just the last 1:36 of the game.

A bad pass turnover on UCF’s final inbound attempt officially slammed the door on one of Houston’s most intense victories this season. 

Roberts, who has put together arguably his best two-game stretch as a Cougar, finished with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Francis’ career-high 16 points also played a huge role in the win.

“The guy that saved us tonight, make no question about it, was Ja’Vier,” Sampson said. “On a night when we needed him the most, he stepped up and played his butt off.”

The Cougars remain undefeated this season in games where they have held their opponent to under 70 points.

Houston is now 14-3 on the season and 6-0 in conference play. They will head back home to the Fertitta Center for a showdown against Utah on Jan. 22 at 7:00 PM.

Updated on 1/20 with new game date due to inclement weather

[email protected]

Leave a Comment