J’Wan Roberts capped a 21-point performance by making the game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds remaining, lifting No. 10 Houston to a 69-68 win over UCF on Saturday afternoon in Orlando, Fla.
The victory was the Cougars’ 10th in a row.
UCF’s Keyshawn Hall missed two free throws with 55.9 seconds left and the Knights trailing 67-66. An official review gave possession to Houston (14-3, 6-0 Big 12), but Terrance Arceneaux missed the front end of a one-and-one after being fouled.
Hall then drove the lane for a layup at the other end to give UCF a 68-67 lead. Following timeouts by both teams with 3.2 seconds remaining, Houston got the ball into the post for Roberts, who converted his 10th field goal of the game.
UCF (12-5, 3-3) inbounded the ball twice following Roberts’ basket – the second after Roberts was called for an offensive foul – but the Knights could not get off a shot attempt. It marked UCF’s 10th straight loss to Houston, which survived a 3-for-16 shooting performance from 3-point range.
Roberts also cleared nine of Houston’s 42 rebounds.
Ja’Vier Francis came off the bench to post a season-high 16 points to go along with 10 boards for his first double-double this season.
L.J. Cryer had six points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Freshman Moustapha Thiam had a career-high 18 points to go with five rebounds and three blocks for UCF.
The Knights, who lost their fifth straight game against a team ranked in the top 10, also received 14 points from Ivy-Curry and 13 from Darius Johnson.
Hall, who was coming off a 40-point game at Arizona State, finished with six points (2 of 12) and 11 rebounds.
The Cougars found themselves in unfamiliar territory, trailing at halftime for the first time this season,
–Field Level Media
