March 9, 2006

Final Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Oliver Lafayette scored 19 points, including 5-of-12 shots from 3-point range, Thursday night to lead Houston to a 71-52 victory over UCF in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.

Lanny Smith scored 13 for the Cougars (20-8), while Jahmar Thorpe scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Houston.

Houston, the tournament's No. 4 seed, will face top-seeded Memphis in one of Friday's semifinals after the No. 5 Tigers defeated Tulane 75-56 earlier Thursday night. UTEP faces No. 24 UAB in the other semifinal.

Josh Peppers was the only UCF player in double figures with 15 points. Peppers also had three blocks.

UCF (14-15), the tournament's fifth seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 65-52 win over East Carolina. But the Golden Knights' 42 percent 3-point shooting in the opener didn't continue into Thursday's game.

Houston led 32-19 at the half despite both teams hitting about a third of their shots. Part of the difference was outside the arc, where the Cougars were 6-of-16 while the Golden Knights missed six of their seven 3-pointers.

Neither team had another player in double figures, but Lafayette had 9 points, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Ramon Dyer, the Cougar's second leading scorer with 12.3 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half, missing all four of his shots. He finished with two points.

Houston took care of the ball, committing only three turnovers in the first half, compared to eight for UCF, leading to nine Cougar points.

Houston continued to build the lead in the second half behind Lafayette's long-range scoring and the inside play of Thorpe. The Cougars led by as many as 21 after the break.