No. 18 Cincinnati routs Houston to win its 26th consecutive game at home.

CINCINNATI — Confetti floated from the rafters and covered the court at the final buzzer. Cincinnati finished its perfect home season with a flourish while delivering a blow to the University of Houston’s hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Gary Clark had 14 points and seven rebounds in a balanced attack, and the No. 18 Bearcats rolled to their 26th straight win at home, 65-47 over the Cougars on Thursday night.

Cincinnati (26-4, 15-2 American Athletic) wrapped up its fourth undefeated season at Fifth Third Arena, which opened in 1989. The Bearcats’ home winning streak is the second-longest at the arena. They won 41 in a row from 1997-2000.

“We knew it would be a big part of our success, honestly,” said guard Kevin Johnson, one of three seniors honored before the game. “We always try to put on a show here.”

UH (20-9, 11-6) came in with the second-best offense in the league but came away with its lowest point total of the season. Rob Gray led with 17 points.

The Cougars, who entered Thursday with seven victories in their previous eight games, also lead the league in fewest turnovers, averaging 9.8. They had 13 against the Bearcats and got outrebounded 40-24.

“They scored 22 points off our turnovers,” said coach Kelvin Sampson, who is 1-7 in his career against Cincinnati. “It’s the ballgame. And then they were just way more physical on the boards.”

Damyean Dotson made a 3-pointer in the closing minutes after missing on his first four tries, giving him the UH record of 29 consecutive games with a 3. He moved one ahead of Robert McKiver’s mark from 2007-08.

The Bearcats took control by closing the first half with a 20-4 run for a 37-20 lead, UH’s lowest-scoring half of the season. Two of the Cougars’ three worst games offensively this season came against the Bearcats.

UH leads the league at making 3s, shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc, but hit just five of 19 Thursday night.

“The way we play our matchup zone is really tough for them,” Johnson said.

John Minchillo / Associated Press Tre Scott, left, helped Cincinnati assert its dominance with a thunderous dunk over UH center Bertrand Nkali in the second half Thursday night in Cincinnati.