By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
The Houston Cougars are coming to San Antonio to play in the NCAA Final Four.
Top-seeded Houston built a 19-point halftime lead and then fended off a rally in the second half to beat the two seed Tennessee Vols 69-50 on Sunday in the Midwest regional final at Indianapolis.
With Tennessee trying to mount a comeback, Emanuel Sharp knocked down three three-point baskets in the final 5:29 to lift the Houston program into its seventh Final Four and its second in the last five seasons under Coach Kelvin Sampson.
The Cougars, who have won 17 in a row, are scheduled to play the Duke Blue Devils in the national semifinals on Saturday in the Alamodome.
Duke is the No. 1 seed out of the East region. The Blue Devils advanced with an 85-65 victory Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 17 points, including 10 in the first half. Sharp heated up in the second half and finished with 16. He made four of 10 from beyond the three-point arc.
Joseph Tugler pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Cougars, who out-boarded the Volunteers 42-35, including 14-12 on the offensive glass. Defensively, Houston limited Tennessee to 28.8 percent shooting.
Shut off from making drives to the basket, the Vols hoisted 29 three-point shots and made only five for 17.2 percent. The Cougars weren’t great, making only 42.4 percent from the field.
From three, the Cougars made nine of 25 for 36 percent.
First half
The Cougars surged to a 34-15 lead on the Volunteers, who shot only 21 percent from the field.
Houston didn’t set the world on fire offensively, shooting only 41 percent and making three of 10 from outside the three-point arc, but with Tennessee’s futility, the Cougars had a relatively easy time of it in the first 20 minutes.
Even with UH starting forward J’Wan Roberts on the bench with two fouls for much of the half, the Cougars were unfazed in methodically building a commanding lead.
L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 10 points and Terrence Arceneaux had eight off the bench. Joseph Tugler had six rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
Tennessee shot an air ball on its first attempt of the game and struggled the rest of the half, making only 6 of 28 from the field, including 1 of 15 from three.
Houston did a good job defensively, as usual, but many of the Vols’ misses from deep came without much pressure.
Even Tennessee leading scorer Chaz Lanier was off. Lanier, who averaged 18 points a game, scored only two. He was one of nine from the field.
Records
Tennessee 30-8
Houston 34-4
Coming up
Houston vs. Duke in the national semifinals, Saturday, April 5, in San Antonio