(BCSNN) — No. 5 Houston used a late surge and balanced scoring to defeat 10th‑seeded BYU 73–66 on Thursday evening at T‑Mobile Center, advancing to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

Houston (27–5) built a nine‑point first‑half lead before BYU (23–11) responded with an 8–0 run powered by two Aleksej Kostic threes to take a seven‑point advantage. Graduate center Kalifa Sakho closed the half with an and‑one in the final seconds, sending the Cougars into the locker room trailing 41–37.

The second half remained tight, with neither team leading by more than four until redshirt freshman Chase McCarty knocked down a wide‑open three to push Houston ahead by six. After Kostic answered with another three, freshman Kingston Flemings buried a trey of his own, and senior Emanuel Sharp hit four straight free throws to extend the margin to double digits and secure the quarterfinal win.

Flemings led Houston with 17 points, while Sharp added 13 and went a perfect 10‑for‑10 at the line. J’Wan Roberts Tugler posted 12 points and eight rebounds, and freshman Chris Cenac contributed 10 points and seven boards.

BYU’s AJ Dybantsa scored a game‑high 26 points with seven rebounds and two steals. Robert Wright III added 15 points and a game‑best five assists.

With the victory, Houston advanced to the Big 12 semifinals for the third straight season and the eighth consecutive year across conference affiliations