Written by Austin Fackler
ORLANDO, Fla. - The last quarterfinal of the 2018 American Athletic Conference Tournament matched up the 6th seeded UCF Knights and the 3rd seeded Houston Cougars.
Both teams started off very strong hitting shots, with Houston shooting 70% half way through the first half and jumping out to a 21-13 lead. While UCF was shooting 50% from the field it was not enough to keep up the high-powered offense of the Cougars who were getting everything they wanted offensively.
The Cougars would grow their lead to 12 with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. The Knights were having trouble converting anything on offense down the stretch in the first half as Houston grew their lead to 16 late in the first half.
Houston was lead in the first half by Devin Davis who finished the first half with 14 points on 6-6 shooting with two threes to help give the Cougars a 40-27 halftime lead.
UCF came out of halftime fighting for their postseason lives cutting into the Cougars lead early and getting it down to nine just 3 minutes into the second half. However, the Knights offense would again stagger mid-way through the second half going scoreless for 4 minutes while Houston went on an 6-0 run to increase their lead back to 14. It was more of the same throughout the second half as UCF shot 29% with the Cougars extending their lead to 19 with 4 minutes to play. The Cougars were too much for The Knights to handle as they would walk away with a 84-56 win.
Houston had 5 players finish in double digits but were led by Rob Gray who had 17.
The Knights were led by B.J. Taylor who finished with 20.
The Cougars will be back in action Saturday where they will face off against 2nd seeded Wichita State in the AAC semi-final game.
Both teams started off very strong hitting shots, with Houston shooting 70% half way through the first half and jumping out to a 21-13 lead. While UCF was shooting 50% from the field it was not enough to keep up the high-powered offense of the Cougars who were getting everything they wanted offensively.
The Cougars would grow their lead to 12 with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. The Knights were having trouble converting anything on offense down the stretch in the first half as Houston grew their lead to 16 late in the first half.
Houston was lead in the first half by Devin Davis who finished the first half with 14 points on 6-6 shooting with two threes to help give the Cougars a 40-27 halftime lead.
UCF came out of halftime fighting for their postseason lives cutting into the Cougars lead early and getting it down to nine just 3 minutes into the second half. However, the Knights offense would again stagger mid-way through the second half going scoreless for 4 minutes while Houston went on an 6-0 run to increase their lead back to 14. It was more of the same throughout the second half as UCF shot 29% with the Cougars extending their lead to 19 with 4 minutes to play. The Cougars were too much for The Knights to handle as they would walk away with a 84-56 win.
Houston had 5 players finish in double digits but were led by Rob Gray who had 17.
The Knights were led by B.J. Taylor who finished with 20.
The Cougars will be back in action Saturday where they will face off against 2nd seeded Wichita State in the AAC semi-final game.