UCF stumbles down stretch in heartbreaking loss to No. 10 Houston

Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel on Jan 18, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Houston has built a reputation for having one of the most formidable defenses in college basketball, earning a comparison to junkyard dogs on the defensive front.

It’s helped the Cougars over the years, winning back-to-back conference titles (2021-22) and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament every year since 2018, and UH made it to the Final Four in 2021.

As UCF began preparing for Saturday’s matchup, the Knights knew they would have to match Houston’s physicality and play with a purpose if they hoped to snap a nine-game losing streak in the series and earn a second win over a Top 25 team.

“We’re super hungry for this,” senior guard Darius Johnson said earlier in the week.

UCF showed its determination right from the start, taking an early lead. However, they could not maintain it as No. 10 Houston secured a 69-68 victory on Saturday.

J’Wan Roberts used a spin move to drive for a layup with just 1.1 seconds remaining, leading the Cougars (14-3, 6-0 Big 12) to their 10th consecutive win. Roberts finished with a game-high 21 points.

UCF (12-5, 3-3 Big 12) last won against Houston on March 2, 2019.

“That’s what basketball is like. I’ve been on both sides of it and it’s always tough,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said of the loss. “I’m proud of our guys. I thought we battled. I thought we fought as well as they did.”

Center Moustapha Thiam, who missed the Knights’ last game against Arizona State, made a strong comeback by scoring a career-high 18 points. Jordan Ivy-Curry contributed 14 points, while Johnson added 13.

UCF began the game aggressively on defense, holding Houston to just 14% shooting (1 of 7) from the floor, which allowed the Knights to secure an early 9-4 lead. This advantage expanded to 11 points thanks to strong starts by Thiam and Ivy-Curry.

Keyshawn Hall, who scored 40 points against ASU on Tuesday, struggled throughout the game, mainly due to Houston’s defense. He started the game 0 for 8 but ended with six points on 2-of-12 shooting. Hall’s layup with 9 seconds left briefly gave UCF a lead before Roberts hit the game-winning shot.

“Keyshawn’s a great player and this was one of those nights,” said Dawkins. “There was a heavy emphasis on him. When you have 40 points, people tend to emphasize you heavily. There’s always an awareness of where you are on the court. They put forth a great effort toward making sure to contain him.”

UCF held Houston to just 33% (12 of 36) shooting in the first half while building a 38-30 halftime lead. It was the first time the Cougars trailed at the half this season.

In the second half, Houston opened with a 9-0 run, taking its first lead at 39-38 with 16:20 remaining, as the Cougars aggressively attacked the offensive boards.

UCF briefly regained the lead and maintained it for about seven minutes. However, Houston then went on a 16-4 run late in the second half. Roberts was instrumental, scoring 8 of his 21 points during the 4:43 of the game, including the game-winner.

“It’s called triple. One guy goes off a triple. One guy goes off a double and the other guy becomes a single. We isolate one,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said of the play. “We worked on that. We worked on those late-game situations many times. I tell our kids: we may need it, we may not, but when the time comes, we’re going to be prepared.”

“We’ve got to take this one on the chin, learn from it and just come out with aggression against another good team coming up in Iowa State,” Ivy-Curry said. “We’ve got to focus on the next play. These games come around so fast. So, next play is always our mindset.”

The loss was particularly tough for UCF as the Knights prepare to embark on a difficult stretch of games.

The Knights travel to No. 2 Iowa State (Tuesday) and then back to host TCU (Jan. 25) before hitting the road to take on No. 9 Kansas (Jan. 28).

To make matters worse, the team was again without a key contributor.

Guard Jaylin Sellers missed his fourth straight game while dealing with an undisclosed injury. He’s appeared in just three games so far this season.

“He’s still day-to-day. I don’t know what the timetable would be, other than what we’ve been saying. So, we just all wait and see, and that’s all I can do,” Dawkins said of Sellers’ status.