Second half rally leads Houston to 31-24 win over UCF

Photo by Robert H Kelly,
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 29, 2016) Trailing 21-3 at halftime, the No. 24 Houston Cougars scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to down the UCF Knights by the score of 31-24 in from of a crowd of 35,846 people at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Saturday, October 29, 2016. The win pushed the Cougars to 7-2 for the season.

After a three-and-out by UCF to begin the game, Houston took possession on their own 31-yard line. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. received a bad snap, pushing the ball back to their 23-yard line.  Three plays later, Ward, Jr. was intercepted on a pass intended for Chance Allen. The Knights took over on their own 46-yard line. Quarterback McKenzie Milton then engineered a 54-yard, seven-play drive the generated the first score of the game when running back Adrian Killins carried the ball the final six yards for the drive for the score. Matthew Wright booted the extra point to give UCF a 7-0 lead after 5:44 of play.

After beginning their third drive of the game, Houston advanced the ball into Knight territory when Ward, Jr. was intercepted for the second time in the first half on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. The knights took over and were not able to generate much offense, eventually giving the ball back to the Cougars. Houston ended their long drive of the season, in minutes, with a 31-yard field goal by Ty Cummings. The Cougars’ scoring drive lasted 7:37, covering 66 yards in 19 plays. UCF increased their lead to 14-3 with 3:06 remaining in the first half on a one-yard touchdown run by Dontravious Wilson and the kicking conversion by Wright. The drive covered 82 yards in 11 plays and lasted 3:36. Houston received the ball on their 27-yard and quickly began to move down the field. Five plays later, Ward, Jr. was again intercepted, giving the Knights possession on the Houston 47-yard line. It took UCF four plays and 26 seconds to put another seven points on the board to give them a 21-3 at halftime.

The Knights kicked off the third quarter will a 41-yard field goal by Wright. The Cougars promptly scored two touchdowns to cut the Knights’ lead to 24-17 on a one-yard run by Ward, Jr. and a six-yard pass from Ward, Jr. to Romello Brooker. UCF started the third quarter with possession of the ball. After three plays, Milton was sacked for a 12-yard loss, causing him to fumble. The ball was recovered by safety Garrett Davis, giving the Cougars possession on the UCF 24-yard line. Houston used three plays to cover the 24 yards and tie the game with a Duke Catalon 11-yard TD rush and another Cummings kick with 12:55 remaining. Five minutes later they sealed the win with a 14-yard run by Ward, Jr.

Houston has three games remaining in their 2016 season, with the next two games at home. On Saturday, November 12, they will face Tulane on Homecoming weekend. They will follow that up with a Thursday, November 17 matchup against No. 5 Louisville and will close out the regular season when they travel to Memphis for a Friday, November 25 contest.

Houston comes up short against UCF with 64-50 loss in conference opener

Marche' Amerson (22) scored 10 points vs. UCF
to lead all Houston scorers.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 27, 2014) Shooting only 30% from the floor, the Houston Cougars dropped their first conference game of the 2014-15 season with a 64-50 loss to the UCF Knights on December 27, 2014 at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston. With the loss, the Cougars drop to 5-6 for the season and 0-1 in American Athletic Conference play.

It was a hard road to hoe for the Cougars, shooting only 31% from the field. Houston had been averaging 36.4% in their previous 12 games, in addition to pulling down an average of 35.9 rebounds per game. Against the Knights, the Cougars pulled down their second lowest number of rebounds in a game this season (29).

Forward Marche’ Amerson led the Cougars with 10 points; six of them from three-pointers, along with a season high three steals.  Forward Tyler Gilbert tallies eight rebounds and guard Alecia Smith had a career high of seven assists.

Houston team took a 29-26 lead into the locker room at halftime, however UCF came out in the second half and took command of the court. They outscored Houston 38-21 and took the lead with 10:41 remaining in the game. Capping off 13 unanswered points, along with five straight scoring shots gave the Knights a 43-35 lead. From that point, the game was all UCF.

UCF commanded the boards, out-rebounding Houston 55-27, pulling down 18 on the offensive end of the court which resulted in 23 second chance points. They also led Houston in points in the paint, 34-24 and bench points 26-18.

Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

In the post-game press conference, Houston head coach Ronald Hughley was questioned about the Cougars’ performance. He responded:

“I wouldn't blame it on the (holiday)  break; it is just our confidence in shooting the basketball. When people play man against us, we are pretty good; when they show us the zone, we act like we have never seen it before in our lives. We didn't shoot the ball with confidence and we didn't penetrate the zone to make anybody else better. That is the one thing, you can’t play this game by yourself and on top of that you have to rebound the basketball. There were a lot of missed shots and a lot of missed opportunities that we didn't get rebounds.”

Houston’s next test will be on Sec. 30, 2014 in an 11 a.m. game versus Tulane in New Orleans. Hughley also commented in the press conference on the Cougars’ next opponent.

“Tulane is a very good team. The one thing I know that they are going to do is press us. We are usually the one  pressing people and turning the ball over, so we will get a little taste of the opposite side of that, but we will be prepared. If we are not tough going in there we will be walking out with our heads held down with another loss.”

Houston falls to UCF 17-12; UH's Bullard connects on four field goals

Greg Ward Jr. fights for another yard against UCF at
TDECU Stadium.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved.

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2014 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 2, 2014) Kicking four field goals by Kyle Bullard was not enough for the University of Houston to overcome the UCF Knights, as the Cougars fall in their first conference game of 2014 by the score of 17-12 at TDECU Stadium in Houston on Thursday, October 2, 2014.

All four field goals came at the end of sustained drives by the Cougars, but their inability to get the ball in the end zone for six points virtually locked the game up in favor of the Knights.

Multi-position player Greg Ward, Jr., who saw action as quarterback, punt returner and wide receiver, came into the game in the second half and directed a comeback that nearly saw the Cougars pull out the win.

Driving down the field with under two minutes left in the game, Ward made a last ditch attempt for a score. Rushing the last 19 yards towards the end zone, Ward was denied the touchdown as a result of a viscous hit by free safety Brandon Alexander, forcing a fumble into the end zone at the one-yard line.

The Knights took possession of the ball with 24 seconds left in the game and killed the ball by taking a knee.

The Cougars got on the scoreboard after recovering a UCF fumble, with an eight play, 27 yard drive with a 39-yard field goal by KyleBullard to take the score to 3-0 at the 9:50 mark in the first quarter.

With the fumble recovery, Houston has taken the ball away from an opponent in 28 straight games. That is second nationally in the FBS.

The Knights, capitalizing on a five-play, 25 yard drive, took the lead on a six-yard pass by quarterback Justin Holman to wide receiver Jackie Williams to put six point on the board. Shawn Moffitt split the uprights for the extra point to give UCF a 7-3 lead with 9:27 remaining in the half.

A young Houston Cougars fan enjoys the game at TDECU Stadium.
Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2014 All Rights Reserved

Houston cut the Knights’ lead to one, when Bullard connected from 42-yard out for his second field goal of the game. The Cougars’ scoring drive was 12 plays covering 56 yards and lasted 3:54.

At the halftime break, the score remained 7-6 in favor of the Knights.

UCF extended their lead by eight points when Holman found wide receiver Breshad Perriman open on the left side flat, sending the ball sailing for a 52 yard touchdown. Moffitt again secured the extra point to give the Knights a 14-6 lead.

Houston began their possession and on a second and ten play, quarterback John O’Korn had a pass picked off by free safety Brandon Alexander, resulting in a four play drive that added three points to Knights’ total. Moffitt added the three points with a 42-yard field goal to increase UCF’s lead to 17-6.

After the kickoff and resulting touchback, Greg Ward, Jr. was given the quarterback duties; quickly mounting a drive 40 yard drive that was hampered by penalties. Houston was forced to punt on a fourth-and-32 yard play, giving the ball back to UCF on their 30-yard line.

Their drive stalled; forcing a punt which was caught by Ward, Jr. He stayed in the game as quarterback and promptly began another drive. Houston capped the 49 yard dive with a 51 yard field goal by Bullard to take the score to 17-9 in favor of UCF.

Bullard’s third field goal of the game was the longest of his career. His previous best was 46-yards in 2013 against Louisville. He added a fourth field goal of 49-yards, with 4:46 remaining in the game to make the score 17-12.

Both teams were plagued with penalties with Houston being flagged 11 times for 99 yards and UCF feeling the heat on 10 plays for 90 yards.

Ward, who completed 10-of-17 passes for 116 yards, also rushed nine times for 40 yards.

Running back Ryan Jackson carried the ball six times for 53 yards while Demarcus Ayers caught seven passes for 90 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Efrem Oliphant accounted for 10 tackles, followed by Joey Mbu with eight and Gavin Stansbury and Adrian McDonald with seven each.

With the loss, the Cougars have dropped their last four games against UCF.

Houston will hit the road for an October 11 meeting against Memphis. Houston leads the series against the Tigers with a 13-9 record, downing them by the score of 25-15 last year in Houston.

The Cougars are now 2-3 for the season and 0-1 in The American Conference.