UH Basketball Falls To Cincinnati In AAC Title

Houston lost a heartbreaker to Cincinnati, 56-55, Sunday in the American Athletic Conference on Orlando. Now the Cougars will sit in their locker room to see where they'll land in the NCAA tournament during the upcoming Selection Sunday show.

Cincinnati was the AAC top seed while Houston was the No. 3 seed.

The Bearcats jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half before Houston's Rob Gray made a pair of free throws to tie it at 22-22 at the 8:28 mark. The teams traded leads most of the game until Houston looked for separation late in the second half.

Devin Davis nailed a jumper with 2:05 remaining to give the Cougars the lead, then he hit a runner in the lane to extend the advantage to 55-52. But that would be the last of Houston's scoring.

Cincinnati's Kyle Washington drained a three-pointer to tie the game with 59 seconds to go, and Gary Clark made a free-throw with four seconds left to seal the victory for the Bearcats.

Gray led Houston with 17 points. Houston scored just 18 points in the second half.

Image: Houston Cougars before the final game of the 2018 AAC Basketball Championship against Cincinnati Bearcats at Amway Center on March 11, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)