3rd-ranked Houston holds off UCF, 71-65

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POSTED: December 31, 2022 -- 6:28 p.m. CT

HOUSTON, TX -- (Fertitta Center)

The 3rd-ranked Houston Cougars held off the UCF Knights 71-65 Saturday afternoon in front of sold out Fertitta Center crowd.

Houston (14-1 overall, 2-0 AAC) saw a 39-31 halftime lead disappear after UCF (10-4, 1-1) opened the second half with a 15-5 run.

"There's three different attitudes: the right attitude, bad attitude and the wrong attitude, Kelvin Sampson, Houston Head Coach said after the game. "We had the wrong attitude came out after halftime."

The Coogs trailed 51-50 with 8:22 to go in the second half when Houston's J'Wan Roberts made his impact. Roberts got the ball on four consecutive possessions in the mid-post. On his first possession, he dished to big man Ja'Vier Francis for a slam dunk.

Next, Roberts score on a jump hook in the paint to the tie game at 54. Then, Roberts added a putback layup plus a free throw to put Houston on top 57-54. Roberts added another three-point play for a 60-54 Houston lead with 5:42 remaining.

UCF made adjustments to defend Roberts in the mid-post; and, the Knights made another comeback and cut Houston's lead to 62-61 with 2:52 on the game clock.

Houston had 1 2 turnover then UCF committed a turnover before Ja'Vier Francis grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. Francis made both foul shots for a 64-61 lead.

UCF failed to score then Houston senior guard Marcus Sasser was fouled on a jump shot attempt. Sasser split the free throws for a 65-61. After another UCF turnover, Jamal Shead was fouled. Shead made both free throws for six point lead (67-61) and some breathing room with 32 seconds left in the game.

Tramon Mark and Jamal Shead sealed the win sinking Houston's final four foul shots.

"I was proud of our guys," Coach Sampson remarked. "We may not have had our fastball today; but, we found a way to win. And, that's what's important -- finding a way to win when maybe you don't have your best stuff."

Tramon Mark finished the game with a game-high 19 points. Mark responded with buckets in the first half after UCF's Darius Johnson was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul against Mark. Mark was 5 for 5 from the floor to turn a 12-11 Houston deficit into a 32-18 lead.

Mark acknowledged the flagrant foul gave him extra motivation.

"I would say it did, especially seeing how they were playing me and the whole team."

Houston finished the game 7 for 15 on layups.

"They were clogging our pick-and-roll lanes, and our guards weren't being as aggressive, attacking their big guy as we would've liked," Coach Sampson said. "That's something we got to continue to work on. Then, we missed a number of shots, layups, runners and shots that could separate us."

Marcus Sasser scored 18 (7 for 20 field goals); J'Wan Roberts scored 12 (5 for 10 fgs); and Jamal Shead added 11 on 3 for 12 field goal shooting.

NEXT: The Coogs' next game is Thursday, January 5, at home, versus the SMU Mustangs. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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