Justin Gorham grabbed two key rebounds and sank four free throws down the stretch as the seventh-ranked Houston Cougars held off the Memphis Tigers 76-74 on Saturday in Fort Worth to advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship final.

Gorham finished with 15 points and seven boards and was 9-for-9 at the free-throw line. He corralled an offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer from Quentin Grimes and converted a pair of free throws to extend the lead for Houston (23-3) to 74-71 with 27.8 seconds remaining.

After Memphis' Boogie Ellis missed from behind the arc on the opposite end, Gorham snagged that rebound and added two more free throws to seal the victory for the second-seeded Cougars, who will face Cincinnati for a shot at the automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

Ellis and DeAndre Williams were instrumental in helping the Tigers (16-8) erase a 12-point halftime deficit. Ellis' 3-pointer with 9:07 left gave Memphis a 51-50 lead, its since early in the first half. Williams scored 16 points before fouling out with 2:34 remaining.

While Ellis scored a game-high 27 points, bolstered by 5-for-8 3-point shooting, he missed 6 of 10 free throws and highlighted the Tigers' season-long woes at the charity stripe. Memphis finished 15 of 27 at the line, a stark contrast to the Cougars' 19-of-22 performance.

Grimes scored 21 points and, like Ellis, went 5 of 8 from behind the arc. He and Ellis engaged in a shooting duel down the stretch of the second half as the lead changed hands several times.

Marcus Sasser scored 14 points for Houston, while DeJon Jarreau added 11 with five rebounds.

Houston controlled the first half by dominating the paint and forcing Memphis into miscues.

The Tigers committed eight turnovers that Houston converted into 14 points prior to the intermission. The Cougars also scored 24 points in the paint, including six during a 10-2 run that closed the half. Grimes' steal and dunk just prior to the final buzzer gave the Cougars a 41-29 lead at the break, a 12-point first-half deficit that represented the largest of the season for Memphis.

--Field Level Media