TicketsHOUSTON -- Landers Nolley II's 24 points (6-of-10 from deep) keyed an impressive Cincinnati display at No. 3 Houston, but the Cougars made just enough plays and utilized its home-court advantage to come away with a 75-69 win on Saturday afternoon.
UC (14-8, 5-4 AAC) was seeking its highest-ranked win since No. 2 Syracuse in the 2012 Big East Tournament, as well as its highest on the road since 1963 at No. 3 Illinois.
David DeJulius' pull-up three with 1:21 left tied it at 69 after facing its largest deficit, 69-64, at 2:49. Houston responded with a contested baseline jumper with 47 seconds left for the lead, and the Bearcats were unable to get a decent shot off before Houston regained possession with 17.8 seconds left. Two free-throws followed, setting up an insurmountable final push.
Nolley, a game-time decision due to a lower-body injury that sidelined him for Thursday and Friday's practices, went down in a scary collision at 4:31. He was able to return 54 seconds later, helped by a media timeout too. The Cougars hit a jumper in the meantime that also served as their first lead since the opening minutes.
Five-straight Nolley points, including his sixth trey, opened a 60-49 lead with 11:28 left, UC's largest of the half. Houston responded with five in a row before Lakhin slipped in for an easy cut and dunk, courtesty of another DeJulius assist, at 9:17 to lead by 62-54.
The Cougars (20-2, 8-1 AAC) went on an 8-0 run to tie it at 62, but Nolley ended the near-four-minute scoring drought with a layup and foul to take a 64-62 lead at 5:33. UH grabbed its first lead since the early going on a contested jumper at 3:51.
Cincinnati made its first four deep attempts (three by Nolley, one by DeJulius) before DeJulius found a sliding Lakhin for a dunk and 14-6 lead. UC added another open trey from Davenport for a 16-0 run over five minutes, stretching it to 19-6 and forcing a Cougar timeout at 13:05.
Houston cut it to 40-36 with 1:41 left, its lowest margin since the opener, but Mika Adams-Woods' buzzer-beater from just behind the half-court line upped it to 43-36 at the break.
Houston scored the first four points of the second half, and Ody Oguama swished a pair of flagrant-foul shots to get it back to 45-40 at 16:36. By retaining possession, Lakhin posted up and added another bucket.
DeJulius assisted on six of the Bearcats' first 11 buckets. He entered the day second in AAC-play with 6.0 assists per game, finishing with nine. DeJulius finished with 14, while Viktor Lakhin went for 15 to go with three blocks.
FROM WES MILLER
"Everybody runs their own race. People nationally should start paying attention to Landers Nolley. He's one of the best players in the country, not just in his ability, but his approach and toughness. He was hurt this week. He hadn't missed a workout till the last two days. He's really hurt, and I did not expect him to go today. He fought through it and played like that. I think the world of him, and he's getting better and better."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati opens a two-game homestand Wednesday night against Tulsa (7 p.m.).
NOTABLE
-Houston entered the day with the nation's second-best scoring defense (54.2 ppg), and UC's 43 points marked the third half in which UH allowed 40 or more.
-Nolley earned his seventh 20-point game of the season, and it was only the fourth UH had allowed.
-UC is 7-2 when making 10-plus three-pointers, and its 11-of-26 showing marked the most makes by a Cougar opponent this season.
-UC fell to 14-2 when leading at the half.
-Rob Phinisee subbed in at 13:01 in the second half, his first action since Nov. 30 after dealing with a lower-body injury.
UC (14-8, 5-4 AAC) was seeking its highest-ranked win since No. 2 Syracuse in the 2012 Big East Tournament, as well as its highest on the road since 1963 at No. 3 Illinois.
David DeJulius' pull-up three with 1:21 left tied it at 69 after facing its largest deficit, 69-64, at 2:49. Houston responded with a contested baseline jumper with 47 seconds left for the lead, and the Bearcats were unable to get a decent shot off before Houston regained possession with 17.8 seconds left. Two free-throws followed, setting up an insurmountable final push.
Nolley, a game-time decision due to a lower-body injury that sidelined him for Thursday and Friday's practices, went down in a scary collision at 4:31. He was able to return 54 seconds later, helped by a media timeout too. The Cougars hit a jumper in the meantime that also served as their first lead since the opening minutes.
Five-straight Nolley points, including his sixth trey, opened a 60-49 lead with 11:28 left, UC's largest of the half. Houston responded with five in a row before Lakhin slipped in for an easy cut and dunk, courtesty of another DeJulius assist, at 9:17 to lead by 62-54.
The Cougars (20-2, 8-1 AAC) went on an 8-0 run to tie it at 62, but Nolley ended the near-four-minute scoring drought with a layup and foul to take a 64-62 lead at 5:33. UH grabbed its first lead since the early going on a contested jumper at 3:51.
Cincinnati made its first four deep attempts (three by Nolley, one by DeJulius) before DeJulius found a sliding Lakhin for a dunk and 14-6 lead. UC added another open trey from Davenport for a 16-0 run over five minutes, stretching it to 19-6 and forcing a Cougar timeout at 13:05.
Houston cut it to 40-36 with 1:41 left, its lowest margin since the opener, but Mika Adams-Woods' buzzer-beater from just behind the half-court line upped it to 43-36 at the break.
Houston scored the first four points of the second half, and Ody Oguama swished a pair of flagrant-foul shots to get it back to 45-40 at 16:36. By retaining possession, Lakhin posted up and added another bucket.
DeJulius assisted on six of the Bearcats' first 11 buckets. He entered the day second in AAC-play with 6.0 assists per game, finishing with nine. DeJulius finished with 14, while Viktor Lakhin went for 15 to go with three blocks.
FROM WES MILLER
"Everybody runs their own race. People nationally should start paying attention to Landers Nolley. He's one of the best players in the country, not just in his ability, but his approach and toughness. He was hurt this week. He hadn't missed a workout till the last two days. He's really hurt, and I did not expect him to go today. He fought through it and played like that. I think the world of him, and he's getting better and better."
UP NEXT
Cincinnati opens a two-game homestand Wednesday night against Tulsa (7 p.m.).
NOTABLE
-Houston entered the day with the nation's second-best scoring defense (54.2 ppg), and UC's 43 points marked the third half in which UH allowed 40 or more.
-Nolley earned his seventh 20-point game of the season, and it was only the fourth UH had allowed.
-UC is 7-2 when making 10-plus three-pointers, and its 11-of-26 showing marked the most makes by a Cougar opponent this season.
-UC fell to 14-2 when leading at the half.
-Rob Phinisee subbed in at 13:01 in the second half, his first action since Nov. 30 after dealing with a lower-body injury.