Dramatic finish
Houston’s Mark drains half-court three to top Memphis.
HOUSTON — They had seen this moment play out before in recent years, never going in their favor.
Michigan’s Jordan Poole. Kentucky’s Tyler Herro. Names that will live in infamy in University of Houston men’s basketball history.
This time, the shining moment went the ninth-ranked Cougars’ way when freshman guard Tramon Marks drained an off-balance 3-pointer a little past half court to beat Memphis 67-64 in the regularseason finale Sunday at the Fertitta Center.
“Hey, we’ve been on the other side of that,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose team finished the regular season 21-3 and will be the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament. “Maybe the good Lord decided it was our time just to balance the scale.
“On a day we couldn’t make open shots … we had a ton of open looks, especially in the last five minutes. To win on a shot like that almost seems unfair.”
All afternoon, Houston and Memphis played a physical game, with neither team able to pull away. There were eight ties and nine lead changes. Thirty-six fouls. Forty-eight free-throw attempts.
Both teams went cold down the stretch, combining for 23 missed shots during the final nine minutes. One of the best shooting stretches of the game was midway through the second half, when Quentin Grimes (17 points), Justin Gorham and Dejon Jarreau matched Memphis’ Lester Quinones,
Deandre Williams and D.J. Jeffries on 3-pointers.
In the closing seconds, Quinones launched a 3-pointer that missed badly. It bounced off Williams, deflected off the bottom of the backboard and off Gorham’s left arm into the hands of Boogie Ellis, who drained a stone-cold 3pointer.
Tied game at 64.
1.7 seconds left.
Houston timeout.
Inside the huddle, Sampson drew up an in-bounds play — designed for Mark — that had been worked on in practice but not in any game.
“I don’t think it’s ever worked in practice,” Gorham said.
Just as Houston broke the huddle, Sampson had some final words for Mark, whose role this season has been as the first guard
off the bench.
“You’re going to have time to catch it, dribble it and get the shot off,” Sampson said. “So, don’t throw up a vomit shot.”
Marcus Sasser stood on the base line defended by Malcolm Dandridge, Memphis’ 6-foot-9 center. To the left, Grimes set up in front of the Memphis bench. On the opposite side, Jarreau waited just past half-court.
As Jarreau and Grimes crossed, Mark attempted to fight off Quinones around the logo at halfcourt. Sasser delivered an overhead pass that took one bounce.
As Mark’s off-balance shot went toward the basket, Gorham stood underneath looking for the right angle for a quick rebound and putback. Mark backpedaled as he watched the shot hit off the backboard.
Gorham, who had a doubledouble with 10 points and 12 rebounds, yelled, “That’s game!”
Mark raised his arms in triumph and started to run.
The UH bench erupted. The limited-capacity COVID-19 crowd at Fertitta Center, where the Cougars have won 25 consecutive games, ignited into pandemonium.
No American Athletic Conference regular-season championship was up for grabs. Wichita State secured the league’s top spot a day earlier.
This, however, is March, and every game — for NCAA Tournament seeding, for momentum — counts.
For the Cougars, March Madness has begun.