HAPPY AT HOFHEINZ
Sophomore scores 31 points to help beat star freshman Simmons, Tigers
Devonta Pollard and the Cougars subdue LSU 105-98 in overtime.
The University of Houston nearly let the game slip away in the closing seconds of regulation Sunday.
Rob Gray Jr. came to the rescue in overtime.
Gray had 11 of his careerhigh 31 points in the extra period as the Cougars outlasted LSU 105-98 before an announced crowd of 7,918, the largest to watch a game at Hofheinz Pavilion in nearly eight years.
The Cougars (6-1) withstood a barrage of 3-pointers from LSU guard Keith Hornsby, including an offbalance shot with seven seconds left to force overtime.
“Just moving on to the next play. That’s how we always practice,” said Gray, a sophomore guard. “Once he hit the shot, regulation was over, and we knew we just had to win in overtime.”
Hornsby, playing for the first time this season after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia, had six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 32 points.
“I’d like to say we didn’t know he could shoot a 3 or we just didn’t guard him,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said. “He made some unbelievably difficult shots. He was feeling it.”
So was Gray down the stretch.
Strong start to OT
Gray scored nine of the Cougars’ 11 points over the final 70 seconds of regulation and into the opening minute of overtime as UH took an 89-84 lead. The Cougars wasted a chance to win the game in regulation with a pair of missed free throws over the final 26.7 seconds.
UH opened the five-minute overtime period with a 10-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Gray and Damyean Dotson and a jumper by Galen Robinson Jr. for a 94-86 lead.
LSU pulled within 97-94 on a 3-pointer by Tim Quarterman with 53 seconds remaining in overtime, but Robinson answered with a free throw, and Dotson’s steal led to a two-handed dunk by Devonta Pollard to put the game away.
Ben Simmons, LSU’s 6-10 freshman forward who is projected as the possible No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft, had 13 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks before fouling out with 2:41 left in regulation. With 50 NBA scouts in attendance, Simmons never got into a rhythm, going 5-of-7 from the floor.
“We didn’t ever want to double him because he’s such a great passer,” Sampson said. “What we did was put a man and a half on him. We always wanted him thinking somebody was coming.”
In his first start of the season, Danrad “Chicken” Knowles had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for the Cougars. Dotson had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I knew Chicken was a much better player than what he was playing,” Sampson said.
UH closed with a 15-3 run to take a 45-36 halftime lead, despite its top two scorers, Pollard (four minutes) and Gray (six), sitting most of the first half in foul trouble. LSU went without a field goal and made just three free throws in the final 7:38.
Crashing the boards
UH shot 51.4 percent for the game and had a 46-33 advantage in rebounds, including 17 offensive. The Cougars had a 20-8 edge in second-chance points.
Quarterman added 27 points and 10 rebounds for LSU, which lost for the