Houston snaps Cincinnati’s 16-game win streak
HOUSTON—Corey Davis Jr. and Devin Davis each scored 16 points, and Houston beat No. 5 Cincinnati 67-62 on Thursday night to snap the nation’s longest winning streak at 16 games.
Rob Gray chipped in 13 points and Armoni Brooks added 12 as the Cougars (205, 10-3 American) earned their second win this season over a top-10 team after beating then-No. 7 Wichita State on Jan. 20.
Houston last beat two top10 teams in a season in 1984, when it did that four times en route to the national championship game.
Cincinnati (23-3, 12-1) had a 50-49 lead with 4:18 left after Jacob Evans’ free throw, but Gray hit a 3-pointer to give the Cougars back the lead with 3:32 left. Brooks nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2 minutes left and Davis came up with a steal and went the length of the court for a layup to give the Cougars a seven-point advantage with 1:47 left.
Evans made a layup and was fouled with 18 seconds left to end a drought of 11 minutes, 56 seconds without a field goal. He missed the free throw, but Jarron Cumberland got the rebound and was fouled. He made one of two free throws, but Fabian White Jr. got the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with 16 seconds left to seal the win.
Evans led four Bearcats in double figures with 16 points and Cumberland finished with 14. Cincinnati shot 39 percent from the field.
Cincinnati jumped out to a 13-2 lead 4½ minutes in behind six points from Cumberland, and the Bearcats pushed the lead to 19-6 with 11:37 left in the first half on Gary Clark’s jumper.
Houston outscored Cincinnati 18-8 over the rest of the half behind seven points by Brooks, and Davis’ jumper cut the lead to 27-24 at the half.