The Cougars came into Fertita Center Wednesday night locked, but not quite loaded from beyond the arc. However, it didn’t stop them from playing their winning brand of basketball. Houston came out on top at home again, beating UCF 79-55.
The Knights, who arrived fresh off a quality upset win against Texas Tech in Orlando, were hoping to carry that momentum into Houston. Unfortunately for them, the Cougars’ defense didn’t allow that to transpire.
UCF being limited to 19 first-half points on 28 percent shooting obviously wasn’t ideal for them, but it was the gameplan for Kelvin Sampson. This is the second straight game keeping their opponents from scoring more than 20 going into the half.
UCF’s defense was able to keep the Cougars from scoring in bunches. Houston finished the half 0-for-10 from three, but still shot 44 percent from the field due to Kingston Fleming’s and Chris Cenac’s paint play.
At intermission, Flemings put up 12 points with a mix of pull-up jumpers and transition points, while Cenac scored 10 of his own and grabbed 6 rebounds.
“They do a really good job of getting downhill. They have some strong drivers, especially Flemings [he] can get downhill,” coach Dawkins said. “They have guys with experience that know how to play. We maybe taking away the three but to take away something you have to give up something else.”
Cenac finished the contest with a strong double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds), finding his spots from the elbow to the block and also making his presence felt on defense, having 2 steals and 1 block.
The Cougars had full control for the entirety of the game, with the largest lead extending to 34 points, while only making three threes. Two of them came from guard Milos Uzan, who finished with 12 points.
Bench scoring has been steadily improving, showing growing consistency with rotating players. It marked back-to-back games with Houston’s reserves scoring 20 points, with large contributions coming from sophomore wing Mercy Miller and senior Kalifa Sakho, who added seven rebounds to go along with his seven points.
The next contest will be one of the most anticipated Big 12 matchups of the season, as Houston travels to Provo, Utah, to face the 16th-ranked BYU Cougars on Saturday, February 7.
Delivered by Le’Raun Peron
