ORLANDO – Third-seeded Houston came up with a stop in the final seconds to defeat No. 2 Wichita State, 77-74, in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship Saturday night at the Amway Center.
Wichita State (25-7) will now wait and see where they are headed in the Big Dance during Sunday's Selection Show at 5 p.m. CST. Houston (26-6) advances to the championship game where they will meet No. 1 Cincinnati.
Leading 74-73 with 1:32 to go, Houston's Rob Gray intercepted a long inbounds pass and dished to Galen Robinson Jr. for what would turn out to be the game-winning score with 1:29 remaining.
The Shockers had the final possession with 6.7 seconds on the clock, but a turnover on the inbounds sent the Gray to the line for two shots where he would hit both, giving the Cougars a three-point win in a classic.
Landry Shamet scored 16 of his team-high 19 points after halftime to lead four Shockers in double-figures. Shamet was 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from long range.
Shaquille Morris added 12 points, doing most of his damage in the second half.
Rashard Kelly posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds and
Austin Reaves added 10.
After shooting 57.7 percent from the field in the second half, Wichita State finished the game at 41.1 percent, but went only 6-of-18 from beyond the arc. Houston hit for 42 percent, including eight three-pointers in 18 tries.
Gray led all scorers with 33 points – 24 in the second 20 minutes – on 8-of-21 shooting. Corey Davis Jr. was the only other Cougar in double-figures with 19.
Wichita State took an early 6-2 lead in the opening minutes but proceeded to miss nine of its next 10 attempts to let Houston take its first lead after scoring eight straight. The Shocker scoring drought lasted more than four minutes until a
Markis McDuffie three-pointer snapped the skid.
A personal 8-0 run from Houston's Corey Davis Jr. then gave the Cougars a 20-11 lead, as Wichita State continued to struggle on the offensive end. The Shockers would also play the final 9:12 without Morris after picking up his second foul.
The Shockers trimmed the lead to four three different times, but UH had an answer every time.
WSU would go the final 5:00 minutes without a field goal but remained within striking distance thanks to a perfect half at the free throw line (13-for-13).
For the half, Wichita State shot just 27 percent (8-for-30) and trailed 37-31 at the break. Houston went through a couple dry spells of its own or else they could have extended its lead even more. Davis Jr. paced all scorers with 12 at the half.
After being held to just three points in the first half it took all of 2:30 for Shamet to reach the double-digit mark in the second half. Shamet hit back-to-back triples to pull the Shockers within five.
With 12:20 left, the Shockers finally built some momentum after Kelly's second made three-pointer of the season. His trey followed by a snazzy reverse layup from Reaves cut the deficit was to two, 47-45. The five-point swing forced a Houston timeout with the large Shocker contingent on its feet.
Shamet's fourth three of the game, and third of the half, finally pulled the Shockers even at the 9:37 mark.
Two minutes later a Morris dish and Kelly slam gave the Shockers their first lead since the 15:30 mark of the first half.
The two teams would exchange the lead over the next five minutes with the Shockers clinging to a 67-65 lead at the final media timeout. Morris' slam and then two free throws on the ensuing possession made it 72-69 with 2:17 to go.
Gray's 31st point of the game came on a pull-up three to again knot it up, but Shamet immediately answered with a basket plus the foul.
