L.J. Cryer scored a game-high 17 points and helped the sixth-ranked Houston Cougars stave off a second-half rally by the host West Virginia Mountaineers for a 63-49 victory in Morgantown, W. Va., on Wednesday.
The Cougars (17-3, 9-0 Big 12) extended their winning streak to 13 games despite blowing most of their 20-point halftime cushion. Joseph Tugler paired 12 points with seven rebounds while Milos Uzan added 10 points as Houston overcame nine second-half turnovers that fueled the West Virginia (13-7, 4-5) comeback.
The Mountaineers opened the second half with an 11-0 blitz to get back into contention, keyed by a Jonathan Powell 3-pointer and a Toby Okani jumper that cut the deficit to 39-30. Sencire Harris added a steal and a layup at the 13:39 mark, and his free throw with 8:46 left narrowed the margin to 47-42, the smallest of the second half.
The Mountaineers closed to within five points with less than eight minutes to play, but Cryer assisted on a Tugler dunk before completing a three-point play aided by a goaltending call to stunt momentum. Uzan helped the Cougars reclaim their double-digit lead at 57-46 with a second-chance 3-pointer at the 4:32 mark. Houston turned 13 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points in the game.
Joseph Yesufu paced West Virginia with nine points off the bench while Amani Hansberry, Javon Small and Okani scored eight points each. The Mountaineers shot 57.1 percent in the second half but missed 5 of 9 free throws to thwart their comeback attempt.
Houston needed fewer than four minutes to establish a double-digit margin when Emanuel Sharp hit a 3-pointer that provided the Cougars a 13-3 lead. Small ended a four-plus minute scoring drought for the Mountaineers with a 3 that cut the deficit to 22-10 with 10:30 left, only for West Virginia to log another three-plus minutes without a point as the Cougars extended their lead.
J’Wan Roberts completed a three-point play that lifted the Cougars to a 27-13 lead and when Terrance Arceneaux drilled a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch of the first half, Houston claimed a 39-19 lead at the intermission.
While the Mountaineers produced as many turnovers (eight) as field goals in the first half, the Cougars shot 50 percent, hit six 3s and recorded a plus-8 margin in shot attempts.
–Field Level Media
