Emanuel Sharps brutal blunders doom Houston in…
SAN ANTONIO — Towels lined the faces of Houston’s teary-eyed gamers.
The locker room was as silent as a library, interrupted solely by a scream tinged with agony.
The top-seeded Cougars’ national championship dream got here up painfully short — in the ultimate seconds of Monday evening’s showdown in opposition to fellow No. 1 Florida.
Twice in the ultimate half-minute, Houston had a likelihood to go forward, and each occasions these possessions resulted in an Emanuel Sharp turnover — two possessions that may hang-out this workforce for years to come back after this 65-63 loss on the Alamodome.
“I’m just going through those last two possessions more than anything else,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson mentioned. “Incomprehensible in that situation we couldn’t get a shot [off].”
Two nights in the past, Sharp was one of the heroes of Houston’s riveting comeback in opposition to Duke, hitting a 3-pointer with 33.3 seconds left that ignited a rally from six factors down with simply over a half-minute to go.
Monday evening, the junior guard — Houston’s second-leading scorer — dribbled the ball out of bounds with 26.6 seconds to go.
After Denzel Aberdeen break up two free throws to push the Florida result in two, the Cougars had one other shot. Sharp got here off a screen for a 3-point attempt, however Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. was proper there.
Emanuel Sharp turns the ball over on the finish of the national championship recreation on April 7, 2025. AP
Sharp had already left his ft, so he dropped the ball to keep the play alive.
Had he touched it, it could’ve been a touring violation.
Gators ahead Alex Condon dove for the ball.
Emanuel Sharp turns the ball over on the finish of the national championship recreation on April 7, 2025. AP
The clock expired as gamers desperately tried to gain possession.
A heartbroken Sharp collapsed on the ground as Gators celebrated round him.
“We’ve been working for this the whole year, the moment we’ve been waiting for. Coming down to the last game,” Houston ahead Joseph Tugler mentioned. “I know it’s going to hurt, break everybody’s heart.”
Emanuel Sharp (R.) walks off the courtroom after the national championship recreation on April 7, 2025. Getty Images
The Cougars led nearly your entire recreation.
They held a 12-point benefit early in the second half.
Florida didn’t lead in the second half till Alijah Martin hit two free throws with 46.6 seconds left. Houston was forward for 30:44 of recreation time.
In the tip, it was the newest painful end for Houston, which has been bedeviled in latest years by accidents.
Monday evening, the Cougars got here up two factors short.
“Sad, disappointed. I’m at a loss for words,” Houston guard Terrance Arceneaux. “In a recreation like that, that close, it felt like we had control of it the entire recreation and we simply let it go.
“A lot of emotions. Sad time for us. Ain’t really much that can be said. You’re a couple of stops from winning it. It’s hard to say anything.”
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