HOUSTON (AP) — Kingston Flemings had 18 points and six assists, Chris Cenac Jr. added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 Houston beat Central Florida 79-55 on Wednesday night.

Cenac and Flemings combined for 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the first half as Houston (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) took a 33-19 lead into halftime. The duo finished 15 of 25 from the field.

Milos Uzan scored 12 points for the Cougars, who shot 55% from the floor despite going 3 for 19 from 3-point range. Houston had a 40-29 advantage in rebounds and outscored the Knights 42-14 in the paint.

The Cougars won their 17th straight at home and have won 50 of their last 51 home games. Houston also won its 11th straight over UCF.

The victory gave the Cougars their 11th straight 20-win season under coach Kelvin Sampson.

Riley Kugel had nine points for UCF (17-5, 6-4), which had won three in a row. The Knights shot 31% and were 6 of 21 on 3-pointers.

The Knights fell to 2-3 this season against ranked teams and 4-5 in Quad 1 games as they look to shore up their NCAA Tournament resume.

Leading by one, Houston went on an 18-5 run over an eight-minute span to open a 27-13 advantage on Cenac’s jumper with 3:50 left in the first half. UCF shot 2 for 13 during the Cougars’ spurt.

Houston’s lead never dipped below double digits the rest of the way.

Up next

UCF visits Cincinnati on Sunday.

Houston plays at No. 16 BYU on Saturday.

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