Cougars top Mustangs as Gray leads the way
DALLAS — The 25thranked Houston Cougars can still finish second in the American Athletic Conference thanks to their 69-56 win at SMU on Wednesday night.
Coach Kelvin Sampson said that isn’t a high priority for him.
“It doesn’t matter to me, whether you’re a 2 seed or a 3 seed,” he said. “We’ve beaten everybody in this league. If you want to cut down the nets, you’ve got to win three games.”
Rob Gray had gamehighs with 19 points and nine assists, and Corey Davis Jr. added 17 points for Houston (23-6, 13-4), which has won seven of eight games. The Cougars are a half game behind secondplace Wichita State, which will visit UCF on Thursday.
“We could have taken care of the ball better and rebounded better,” said Gray, who fouled out with 2:28 to play, “but I’ll take it.”
SMU (16-14, 6-11) has lost seven of eight games since leading scorer Shake Milton was sidelined with a hand injury.
Jahmal McMurray scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to lead the Mustangs. He was the only SMU player to score during the first 9½ minutes.
Houston outscored SMU 17-4 in points off turnovers.
The Cougars’ largest lead was 18 points late in the second half after a 36-24 advantage at halftime. The Mustangs missed 11 consecutive field-goal attempts during the first half.
“Our defense the first half set the tone,” Sampson said. “It’s a good road win. Now we have a chance to finish undefeated at home.”
SMU coach Tim Jankovich reviewed Houston’s statistics — shooting 44 percent, 29 percent on 3-pointers, limited to eight free-throw attempts — and shook his head.
“Those are winning numbers,” Jankovich said. “You hope for that most nights, especially against a team as good as Houston is this year.”
UH guard Wes Van Beck missed his second consecutive game with an injured hand. The Cougars defeated SMU in Dallas for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Houston will close out the regular season when it plays host to UConn at 3 p.m. Sunday at H&PE Arena. The Cougars are looking for their first perfect home season since the 1983-84 team went 15-0.