Kolby KickingWoman
ICT
Kelvin Sampson and his University of Houston Cougars team came up just shy of climbing to the top of the men’s college basketball mountain.
In a game that will be looked back on as a classic, Houston led the Florida Gators by 12 points nearly five minutes into the 2nd half before Florida slowly began chipping away.
Florida and Walter Clayton Jr. somehow overcame Houston’s spirit-crushing defense Monday night to will out a 65-63 victory in an NCAA title-game thriller not decided until Clayton’s own D stopped the Cougars from taking a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Clayton finished with 11 points, all in the second half, but what he’ll be remembered for most was getting Houston’s Emanuel Sharp to stop in the middle of his motion as he tried to go up for the game-winning 3 in the final seconds.
Clayton ran at him, Sharp dropped the ball and, unable to pick it up lest he get called for traveling, watched it bounce there while the clock ticked to zero.
Will Richard had 18 points to keep the Gators (36-4) in it, and they won their third overall title and first since 2007, this time led by third-year coach Todd Golden. The Cougars (35-5) and Coach Sampson were denied their first championship.
The 35 wins were the most in program history for Houston in a year where the team won the Big 12 regular-season, were Big 12 Tournament champions and Sampson was the league’s Coach of the Year.
Sampson was also seeking his 800th career win and would have been the oldest head coach to win a national championship. He is 69 years old.
Coverage of the post-game press conference on social media showed Sampson calling Florida “a really, really good team.”
“I told our guys after the game, be disappointed you lost, but do not be disappointed in your effort,” Sampson said.
“Two great teams, two tough teams. We lost by two points, they made one more play than we did tonight,” he added.
Prior to the game, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shared support for Houston on its Facebook page.
In an interview with ICT, Lumbee Chairman John Lowery said the tribe has been following Sampson’s career for a long time and his father John Sampson, along with the family, was a staple in the community.
“We’re very proud of him. We keep up with him whenever he plays in or near North Carolina. If we can get over to see him, we do our best to get over to see him,” Lowery said. “It means a lot to our people, it means a lot to our community. Of course, he [Kelvin Sampson] graduated from University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He’s just very intertwined with the community and we’re very proud of him and it means a lot for us to be able to see him being successful.”
This was a defensive brawl, and for most of the night, Clayton got the worst of it.
He was 0 for 4 from the field without a point through the first half. He didn’t score until 14:57 remained in the game. He finished with one 3-pointer and, before that, a pair of three-point plays that kept the Gators in striking range.
It was Florida’s defense, not Houston’s, that controlled the final minute.
After Alijah Martin made two free throws to put Florida ahead 64-63 — its first lead since 8-6 — the Gators lured Sharp into a triple-team in the corner, where Richard got him to dribble the ball off his leg and out of bounds.
Florida made one free throw on the next possession and that set up the finale. The ball first went to L.J. Cryer — who led the Cougars with 19 points. Blanketed by Richard, he threw to Sharp, who was moving to spot up for a 3 when Clayton ran at him. That left him with no choice but to let the ball go.
Sampson, who designed a defense that held Florida under 70 points for only the second time this season, looked on in shock.
The Florida bench got a technical during a quick span of three foul calls in less than a minute. Later in the second half, Houston’s smothering defense baited Rueben Chinyelu into a technical after committing a foul.
But that wasn’t enough. Houston ends up at the same place as the Phi Slama Jama teams of the 1980s — in second place, but memorable.
This gut-wrenching loss came two nights after the Cougars fashioned a wild comeback of their own, from 14 down against Duke.
Despite the loss, Lowery is confident in the Cougars future, citing what is reported to be a solid incoming class of recruits. If there is one thing Lowery knows for certain, it’s that Coach Sampson will have his guys ready to go.
“It’s sort of like they are a working man’s team. It’s like they just get out there and they just work hard, they work hard, they push and I think that that is a reflection on Kelvin,” Lowery said. “Just hard working, get out there, nose to the grind, make it happen. So yes, sir, I do hope he can get them on back there next year and we can be celebrating a championship because Lord knows he definitely deserves it.”
All three Final Four games were decided down the stretch, none by more than six. Any thought that the men’s game had been overtaken by the increasingly popular women will probably go on hold at least for a year.
The three women’s Final Four games, capped by UConn’s blowout of South Carolina on Sunday, were decided by an average of 24.7 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
