Cougars’ upset bid takes a seat when Gray does
Mustangs exploit absence of UH star to bring an end to 5-game win streak
Early in the second half, Rob Gray was putting on the type of take-control offensive showcase befitting the league’s leading scorer.
A jump shot. A driving layup. Another jumper and offbalanced floater.
Eight consecutive points as the University of Houston junior guard single-handedly fought off a comeback from No. 19 SMU.
Then a 46-second span changed everything.
Gray was called for two quick fouls — his third and fourth of the game — and the Mustangs took advantage of him being on the bench to rally for a 76-66 victory Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion to snap the Cougars’ five-game winning streak.
“Obviously, he was cooking,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said. “He was getting in the lane and getting whatever he wanted. Next thing you know he’s sitting beside me.” Crucial stretch
At the time Gray (who finished with a game-high 23 points) exited the game, the Cougars held a slim 38-35 lead with 12:40 left.
When he checked back in more than five minutes later, the Cougars were down 47-41.
“It messes with kid’s psyche,” Sampson said of four fouls called on the Cougars during the pivotal second-half span. “I think it affects everybody in the arena, not just the players but the fans, too.” Just like that, a game that Sampson believed the Cougars (18-8, 9-5 AAC) played well enough to win — at one point they led by 13 points in the first half — slipped away because of the inability to keep the Mustangs off the free-throw line, their own free-throw woes and a lack of offensive production beyond Gray and Damyean Dotson.
Gray and Dotson, arguably the top 1-2 scoring punch in the American Athletic Conference, combined for 42 points on 17-of-39 shooting. The rest of the Cougars accounted for 24 points.
“(SMU) has some other weapons, and we’ve got Dotson and Rob,” Sampson said. “We can’t play without one of those for an extended stretch.” The Cougars suffered their most lopsided loss of the season, 85-64, in the first meeting Jan. 21 in Dallas. Semi Ojeleye scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, while Ben Moore added 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sterling Brown added 14 of his 16 points after halftime for the Mustangs (24-4, 14-1 AAC), who had to rally from a double-digit deficit for the second time in a week.
“Give SMU credit, that’s a good team,” Sampson said. “They’re ranked 19th but are probably better than that, which tells you how good we are, too.” Free throws a factor
A major factor in the game was free throw shooting. SMU shot 79 percent, making 19-of-23 in the second half. The Cougars, meanwhile, were 5-of-11 — all six misses by point guard Galen Robinson Jr. “Their free throws bailed them out of a lot of possessions,” Sampson said. “They kept being out on the freethrow line. They had a lot of possessions where I felt we guarded them really good, and the next thing you know they two points from the freethrow line.” Even with all their problemsand missedwith Gray free on throws,the bench UH was maining. tied 51-51 with 5:14 re-Brown hit a 3-pointer to start a 10-2 run. UH closed within 63-59 on a 3-pointer by Dotson with 1:36 left but never got closer. Earlier in the week, Sampson described UH’s tough upcoming stretch as “sharkinfested waters.” The Cougars end the regular season with games against UConn, Memphis and No. 18 Cincinnati, the last two on the road, as they search for a marquee win to strengthen its NCAA Tournament résumé. “We’ve just got to stay mentally focused and tough,” Dotson said. “Wehave to focus on the next game and go fit a win.”