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UCF

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Sharp scores 18, No. 3 Houston bounces back, tops UCF 82-71

AP
Jan 26, 2023

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Emanuel Sharp came off the bench to score 18 points and No. 3 Houston bounced back from a loss that knocked it from the top spot in the rankings, beating UCF 82-71 on Wednesday night.

Jarace Walker added 17 points, Jamal Shead had 14 points and 10 assists, and Marcus Sasser also scored 14 for the Cougars (19-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference), who lost 56-55 at home to Temple on Sunday.

''We challenged our guys (after the loss),'' Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. ''They've been challenged since that game was over. Everything in basketball is a competition. Tonight we competed and when you compete you have a much better chance of success.''

Ithiel Horton scored 18 points and Taylor Hendricks had 17 for UCF (13-7, 4-4). Hendricks' three-point play capped a 6-0 run that pulled the Knights within 67-62 with 7:02 remaining.

Horton was called for a flagrant foul with 3:19 left in the game. Sharp made two free throws to extend Houston's lead to 74-64.

''We have to reset,'' UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. ''We're going through a tough stretch right now. Tough games that we're playing and the teams that we're playing. We need to have a reset.''

Shead swished a contested 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 78-67 lead with 2:15 remaining and Walker sank a shot from the baseline to make it 80-67 with 1:25 left, matching Houston's biggest lead of the game.

''We had the best player on the floor, Jamal Shead,'' Sampson said. ''Jamal Shead was the best player. His leadership, his toughness, gave our kids something to follow. And the fact that he's at the point guard position makes it even more important.''

UCF took an early 8-2 lead before Houston responded with an 11-0 run. The Cougars led 38-34 at halftime.

INJURY REPORT

Sampson said Sasser hurt his knee in the first half. He sat for a stretch after halftime and Sampson said the senior guard was ''never right'' in the second half. ... UCF guard Darius Johnson (foot) started and had nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in 32 minutes.

BIG PICTURE

Houston: The Cougars controlled the paint and the pace of the game for stretches in the second half, but foul trouble kept them from pulling away until the final three minutes. ... The Cougars shot 50.9% from the floor.

UCF: The Knights could not keep up the pace in the second half and struggled handling Houston's length on the inside. ... UCF hit just one of its final seven shots.

UP NEXT

Houston: Hosts Cincinnati on Saturday.

UCF: Hosts Temple on Saturday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

1st Half
HOU
Cougars
38
UCF
Knights
34

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Jarace Walker vs. Taylor Hendricks (Marcus Sasser gains possession)
19:40		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
19:38		J'wan Roberts offensive rebound
19:21		Jarace Walker misses two point jump shot
19:19		Knights defensive rebound
19:06	+3	Taylor Hendricks makes three point jump shot (C.J. Kelly assists)	0-3
18:38	+2	Jarace Walker makes two point jump shot	2-3
18:18	+2	Ithiel Horton makes two point jump shot (Darius Johnson assists)	2-5
17:54		Tramon Mark turnover (out of bounds)
17:44		C.J. Kelly misses two point jump shot
17:42		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
17:30		C.J. Kelly personal foul (Marcus Sasser draws the foul)
17:19		Jarace Walker misses three point jump shot
17:17		Tramon Mark offensive rebound
17:10		Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot
17:08		C.J. Kelly defensive rebound
16:56	+3	Ithiel Horton makes three point jump shot (C.J. Kelly assists)	2-8
16:38	+3	Jarace Walker makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	5-8
16:21		Ithiel Horton misses three point jump shot
16:19		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
16:14	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	7-8
15:55		Darius Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Jarace Walker steals)
15:49	+2	Jarace Walker makes two point dunk	9-8
15:32		Taylor Hendricks turnover (Jamal Shead steals)
15:26		Taylor Hendricks blocks J'wan Roberts's two point layup
15:24		Ithiel Horton defensive rebound
15:20		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
15:18		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
15:20		Lahat Thioune personal foul
15:20		TV timeout
15:15	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point dunk (Jarace Walker assists)	11-8
14:46		Taylor Hendricks misses three point jump shot
14:44		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
14:35	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	13-8
14:08	+2	Taylor Hendricks makes two point dunk	13-10
13:34	+3	Marcus Sasser makes three point jump shot (Jarace Walker assists)	16-10
13:16		Darius Johnson offensive foul
13:16		Darius Johnson turnover (offensive foul)
13:05	+3	Marcus Sasser makes three point jump shot	19-10
13:03		Knights 30 second timeout
12:45		Emanuel Sharp personal foul
12:36	+2	Lahat Thioune makes two point layup (Ithiel Horton assists)	19-12
12:13		Taylor Hendricks shooting foul (Jarace Walker draws the foul)
12:13	+1	Jarace Walker makes regular free throw 1 of 2	20-12
12:13	+1	Jarace Walker makes regular free throw 2 of 2	21-12
11:58	+3	C.J. Kelly makes three point jump shot (Jayhlon Young assists)	21-15
11:32		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
11:30		Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
11:30		Ithiel Horton personal foul
11:30		TV timeout
11:13		Jump ball. Tramon Mark vs. Brandon Suggs (Brandon Suggs gains possession)
11:13		Tramon Mark turnover (lost ball) (Brandon Suggs steals)
10:58	+2	Taylor Hendricks makes two point dunk (C.J. Kelly assists)	21-17
10:34		C.J. Kelly blocks Ja'Vier Francis's two point layup
10:32		Jayhlon Young defensive rebound
10:01		Knights turnover (shot clock violation)
9:45		Jayhlon Young personal foul
9:32	+2	Emanuel Sharp makes two point layup	23-17
9:18	+3	Taylor Hendricks makes three point jump shot	23-20
9:01		J'wan Roberts turnover (Taylor Hendricks steals)
8:53	+2	Ithiel Horton makes two point jump shot	23-22
8:40		Marcus Sasser shooting foul (Ithiel Horton draws the foul)
8:40	+1	Ithiel Horton makes regular free throw 1 of 1	23-23
8:21	+3	Marcus Sasser makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	26-23
8:05		Marcus Sasser shooting foul (Ithiel Horton draws the foul)
8:05	+1	Ithiel Horton makes regular free throw 1 of 2	26-24
8:05	+1	Ithiel Horton makes regular free throw 2 of 2	26-25
7:46	+3	Emanuel Sharp makes three point jump shot (Jarace Walker assists)	29-25
7:30		Ithiel Horton misses two point jump shot
7:28		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
7:27		TV timeout
7:17	+2	Jarace Walker makes two point layup (Jamal Shead assists)	31-25
7:16		Tyem Freeman shooting foul (Jarace Walker draws the foul)
7:16		Jarace Walker misses regular free throw 1 of 1
7:16		Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound
6:46		Brandon Suggs misses two point jump shot
6:44		Tramon Mark defensive rebound
6:30		Tramon Mark turnover (Jayhlon Young steals)
6:20		Taylor Hendricks misses two point jump shot
6:18		Cougars defensive rebound
5:49	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point jump shot	33-25
5:31		Tramon Mark shooting foul (Taylor Hendricks draws the foul)
5:31	+1	Taylor Hendricks makes regular free throw 1 of 2	33-26
5:31	+1	Taylor Hendricks makes regular free throw 2 of 2	33-27
5:12	+2	Tramon Mark makes two point jump shot	35-27
5:00		Brandon Suggs misses three point jump shot
4:58		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
4:49		Brandon Suggs shooting foul (Jamal Shead draws the foul)
4:49	+1	Jamal Shead makes regular free throw 1 of 2	36-27
4:49		Jamal Shead misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:49		Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound
4:37	+3	Ithiel Horton makes three point jump shot	36-30
4:14		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
4:12		Tramon Mark offensive rebound
4:11		Jump ball. Emanuel Sharp vs. Tyem Freeman (Emanuel Sharp gains possession)
3:55		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
3:53		Jamal Shead offensive rebound
3:46		Terrance Arceneaux turnover (out of bounds)
3:46		TV timeout
3:31		Taylor Hendricks misses three point jump shot
3:29		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
3:14		Taylor Hendricks blocks Tramon Mark's two point layup
3:12		Ithiel Horton defensive rebound
3:01		Emanuel Sharp blocks C.J. Kelly's three point jump shot
2:59		Tramon Mark defensive rebound
2:53		J'wan Roberts turnover (traveling)
2:29		Darius Johnson turnover
2:08		Terrance Arceneaux misses two point jump shot
2:06		Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound
1:59		Emanuel Sharp personal foul
1:50		C.J. Kelly turnover (traveling)
1:31		Jamal Shead turnover (C.J. Kelly steals)
1:22		C.J. Kelly misses two point layup
1:20		Taylor Hendricks offensive rebound
1:08	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point layup	36-32
0:36		Darius Johnson personal foul (Jamal Shead draws the foul)
0:36		Jamal Shead misses regular free throw 1 of 1
0:36		J'wan Roberts offensive rebound
0:34		J'wan Roberts misses two point layup
0:32		Jamal Shead offensive rebound
0:29		Cougars 30 second timeout
0:18		J'wan Roberts misses two point dunk
0:16		Jamal Shead offensive rebound
0:12	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point layup	38-32
0:02		J'wan Roberts shooting foul (C.J. Kelly draws the foul)
0:02		C.J. Kelly misses regular free throw 1 of 2
0:02		C.J. Kelly misses regular free throw 2 of 2
0:02		Lahat Thioune offensive rebound
0:02	+2	Lahat Thioune makes two point layup	38-34
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
HOU
Cougars
44
UCF
Knights
37

Time		Play	Score
19:40		C.J. Kelly misses two point jump shot
19:38		Jarace Walker defensive rebound
19:30	+2	Tramon Mark makes two point pullup jump shot	40-34
19:30		Taylor Hendricks shooting foul (Tramon Mark draws the foul)
19:30		Tramon Mark misses regular free throw 1 of 1
19:30		C.J. Kelly defensive rebound
19:13	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point jump shot (Taylor Hendricks assists)	40-36
18:39	+3	Tramon Mark makes three point jump shot	43-36
18:19	+3	C.J. Kelly makes three point jump shot (Taylor Hendricks assists)	43-39
17:58		Tramon Mark turnover (lost ball)
17:28		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
17:26		Ithiel Horton offensive rebound
17:15		Ithiel Horton misses two point layup
17:13		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
17:13		C.J. Kelly blocks Tramon Mark's two point dunk
17:13		Cougars offensive rebound
16:54	+3	Jamal Shead makes three point jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists)	46-39
16:28	+3	Ithiel Horton makes three point jump shot (Darius Johnson assists)	46-42
16:08		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
16:06		Tramon Mark offensive rebound
16:03		C.J. Kelly personal foul
15:54		Marcus Sasser misses two point jump shot
15:52		J'wan Roberts offensive rebound
15:47	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point layup	48-42
15:32		Jarace Walker blocks Lahat Thioune's two point layup
15:30		Jarace Walker defensive rebound
15:18		Taylor Hendricks blocks J'wan Roberts's two point layup
15:16		Marcus Sasser offensive rebound
15:05		Jamal Shead misses two point floating jump shot
15:03		Jarace Walker offensive rebound
15:03		Taylor Hendricks personal foul
15:03		TV timeout
14:53		Jarace Walker misses three point jump shot
14:51		Knights defensive rebound
14:51		Tramon Mark personal foul
14:36	+3	C.J. Kelly makes three point jump shot	48-45
14:07		Taylor Hendricks shooting foul (Jarace Walker draws the foul)
14:07		Johnny Dawkins technical foul
14:07	+1	Marcus Sasser makes technical free throw 1 of 2	49-45
14:07	+1	Marcus Sasser makes technical free throw 2 of 2	50-45
14:07	+1	Jarace Walker makes regular free throw 1 of 2	51-45
14:07	+1	Jarace Walker makes regular free throw 2 of 2	52-45
14:07	+2	Darius Johnson makes two point jump shot	52-47
14:07		Marcus Sasser shooting foul (Darius Johnson draws the foul)
14:07	+1	Darius Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 1	52-48
13:31	+2	J'wan Roberts makes two point dunk (Marcus Sasser assists)	54-48
13:15		J'wan Roberts shooting foul (C.J. Kelly draws the foul)
13:15	+1	C.J. Kelly makes regular free throw 1 of 2	54-49
13:15	+1	C.J. Kelly makes regular free throw 2 of 2	54-50
13:05	+3	Emanuel Sharp makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	57-50
12:48		Ithiel Horton offensive foul
12:48		Ithiel Horton turnover (offensive foul)
12:37	+2	Marcus Sasser makes two point driving layup	59-50
12:37		Lahat Thioune shooting foul (Marcus Sasser draws the foul)
12:37	+1	Marcus Sasser makes regular free throw 1 of 1	60-50
12:31		Knights 30 second timeout
12:31		TV timeout
12:11	+2	Lahat Thioune makes two point fadeaway jump shot (C.J. Kelly assists)	60-52
11:50		Tramon Mark misses three point jump shot
11:48		Ja'Vier Francis offensive rebound
11:43	+3	Emanuel Sharp makes three point jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists)	63-52
11:19		Brandon Suggs misses three point jump shot
11:17		Tramon Mark defensive rebound
11:13		Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
11:11		Knights defensive rebound
11:13		Jarace Walker personal foul
11:13		TV timeout
11:02		Darius Johnson misses two point jump shot
11:00		Brandon Suggs offensive rebound
10:56		Ja'Vier Francis blocks Brandon Suggs's two point layup
10:54		Ja'Vier Francis defensive rebound
10:43		C.J. Kelly personal foul (Marcus Sasser draws the foul)
10:43		Marcus Sasser misses regular free throw 1 of 1
10:43		Brandon Suggs defensive rebound
10:43		Ja'Vier Francis personal foul
10:18		Darius Johnson misses two point jump shot
10:16		Tramon Mark defensive rebound
10:10	+2	Jamal Shead makes two point driving layup (Tramon Mark assists)	65-52
9:55		Ithiel Horton misses three point jump shot
9:53		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
9:29		Marcus Sasser misses three point jump shot
9:27		Brandon Suggs defensive rebound
9:20	+2	Lahat Thioune makes two point layup (Tyem Freeman assists)	65-54
8:44		Marcus Sasser offensive foul
8:44		Marcus Sasser turnover (offensive foul)
8:22		Ithiel Horton misses three point jump shot
8:20		Brandon Suggs offensive rebound
8:20		Tramon Mark personal foul (Brandon Suggs draws the foul)
8:20	+1	Brandon Suggs makes regular free throw 1 of 2	65-55
8:20	+1	Brandon Suggs makes regular free throw 2 of 2	65-56
8:08	+2	Jarace Walker makes two point dunk (Jamal Shead assists)	67-56
8:08		Lahat Thioune shooting foul (Jarace Walker draws the foul)
8:08		Jarace Walker misses regular free throw 1 of 1
7:48		Tyem Freeman defensive rebound
7:48		Emanuel Sharp personal foul (Jayhlon Young draws the foul)
7:48		TV timeout
7:48		Jayhlon Young misses regular free throw 1 of 1
7:48	+1	Jayhlon Young makes regular free throw 2 of 2	67-57
7:36		Jarace Walker turnover (lost ball) (Jayhlon Young steals)
7:27		Tramon Mark personal foul (Jayhlon Young draws the foul)
7:27	+1	Jayhlon Young makes regular free throw 1 of 2	67-58
7:27	+1	Jayhlon Young makes regular free throw 2 of 2	67-59
7:13		Jamal Shead misses three point jump shot
7:11		Jayhlon Young defensive rebound
7:02	+2	Taylor Hendricks makes two point layup (Jayhlon Young assists)	67-61
7:02		Jarace Walker shooting foul (Taylor Hendricks draws the foul)
7:02		Cougars 30 second timeout
7:02	+1	Taylor Hendricks makes regular free throw 1 of 1	67-62
6:38		Terrance Arceneaux misses three point jump shot
6:36		Tyem Freeman defensive rebound
6:25		J'wan Roberts blocks Tyem Freeman's two point layup
6:23		Jamal Shead defensive rebound
5:56		Jarace Walker misses two point floating jump shot
5:52		Cougars offensive rebound
5:36	+3	Emanuel Sharp makes three point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	70-62
5:19		Taylor Hendricks misses three point jump shot
5:17		J'wan Roberts defensive rebound
4:49	+2	Terrance Arceneaux makes two point reverse layup (Jamal Shead assists)	72-62
4:42		Knights 30 second timeout
4:36		Darius Johnson misses two point jump shot
4:34		Cougars defensive rebound
4:06		Emanuel Sharp misses three point jump shot
4:04		Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound
3:54	+2	Taylor Hendricks makes two point layup (Darius Johnson assists)	72-64
3:19		Taylor Hendricks blocks Jamal Shead's three point jump shot
3:17		Cougars offensive rebound
3:17		TV timeout
3:19		Ithiel Horton flagrant 1 (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul)
3:19	+1	Emanuel Sharp makes flagrant free throw 1 of 2	73-64
3:19	+1	Emanuel Sharp makes flagrant free throw 2 of 2	74-64
3:02		C.J. Kelly shooting foul (Jamal Shead draws the foul)
3:02	+1	Jamal Shead makes regular free throw 1 of 2	75-64
3:02		Jamal Shead misses regular free throw 2 of 2
3:02		Taylor Hendricks defensive rebound
2:49	+3	Jayhlon Young makes three point jump shot (C.J. Kelly assists)	75-67
2:15	+3	Jamal Shead makes three point jump shot (Marcus Sasser assists)	78-67
1:57		Jayhlon Young misses two point driving layup
1:55		Emanuel Sharp defensive rebound
1:26	+2	Jarace Walker makes two point jump shot (Jamal Shead assists)	80-67
1:08		Jarace Walker shooting foul (Darius Johnson draws the foul)
1:08	+1	Darius Johnson makes regular free throw 1 of 2	80-68
1:08	+1	Darius Johnson makes regular free throw 2 of 2	80-69
1:02		Darius Johnson personal foul (Emanuel Sharp draws the foul)
1:02	+1	Emanuel Sharp makes regular free throw 1 of 2	81-69
1:02	+1	Emanuel Sharp makes regular free throw 2 of 2	82-69
1:02		Cougars 30 second timeout
0:57		Darius Johnson misses two point layup
0:55		Taylor Hendricks offensive rebound
0:49		C.J. Kelly misses three point jump shot
0:47		Ithiel Horton offensive rebound
0:36	+2	Ithiel Horton makes two point jump shot	82-71
0:11		Darius Johnson blocks Marcus Sasser's three point jump shot
0:09		C.J. Kelly defensive rebound
0:03		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
0:06		Ithiel Horton offensive rebound
0:00		Ithiel Horton misses two point layup
0:00		Knights offensive rebound
0:00		Darius Johnson misses three point jump shot
0:00		Jarace Walker defensive rebound
0:00		End of period

Jarace Walker defensive rebound