INDIANAPOLIS – Milos Uzan made a lay-up with 0.9 seconds left to lift the Houston Cougars to a 62-60 win over the Purdue Boilermakers in the NCAA Sweet 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday.
Sophomore forward Cam Heide tied the game at 60 with a three-pointer to beat the shot clock with 35 seconds to play.
Uzan missed a jumper, then Joseph Tugler missed a tip shot before the ball was knocked out of bounds by Purdue. Uzan inbounded the ball to Tugler, who gave it right back to Uzan for the easy basket for the game-winner with less than a second remaining.
All-American guard Braden Smith had a desperation heave at the horn, but it was no good.
The first half was back-and-forth with junior guard Fletcher Loyer scoring 12 of the Boilermakers’ first 16 points. His three-pointer with 8:19 left in the half tied the game at 16.
Smith made a three-pointer to knot the game at 29, then made two free throws after being fouled at the buzzer to send Purdue to the locker room with the lead.
The Cougars started the second half on a 11-1 spurt to take a 40-32 lead before Heide made a three-pointer to halt the run and keep the Boilers in the game.
Houston surged again behind Uzan’s three-point shooting. His sixth three of the game gave the Cougars a 56-46 lead with just under eight minutes to play.
Purdue battled back again with a Loyer jumper, a Myles Colvin jumper, a deep Heide three and two free throws from Trey Kaufman-Renn to cut the Houston lead to two with over four minutes to play.
L.J. Cryer hit a three-pointer to extend the Cougars’ lead back to five before a Kaufman-Renn dunk and Heide’s tying three.
Houston will play Tennessee, who beat Kentucky 78-65 in the first game of the night at Lucas Oil Stadium, for the Midwest Region championship on Sunday at 2:20 p.m.
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