University of Houston forces Memphis into overtime but falls short.
Lawson brothers help send UH to third league loss in four games
It was the “other” Lawson who gave the University of Houston fits Thursday night.
K.J. Lawson had career highs with 28 points and 16 rebounds as Memphis escaped with a 70-67 overtime victory at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Cougars forced OT on Danrad “Chicken” Knowles’ putback with three seconds left in regulation.
After a 3-0 start to begin American Athletic Conference play, Houston (13-6, 4-3) lost for the third time in the last four games.
Down 70-67 with 12.1 seconds left, the Cougars got one last chance to tie the game when the Tigers — under pressure to inbound the ball — had the pass sail into the first row of courtside seats.
UH set up to take the final shot with Galen Robinson Jr. missing an attempt from the left wing. Armoni Brooks grabbed the rebound and passed to Rob Gray, whose shot missed at the buzzer.
Scorers showdown
The Cougars had only one field goal in the overtime period and were 3-of12 over the final eight-plus minutes of the game.
In a showdown of the top two scorers in the AAC, Gray had 21 points, and Memphis forward Dedric Lawson — a leading candidate for player of the year — finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 3:50 left in overtime. Gray entered the game with a slim lead — 20.8 to 20.2 points — in scoring.
But it was K.J. Lawson, a freshman and younger brother of Dedric, who proved to be Houston’s undoing. He made 12 of 21 shots, including a clutch jumper late in the second half. Five days earlier, K.J. Lawson suffered the worst shooting performance of his career, going 1-for-11 against South Florida.
“He had a really good night,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said.
The Lawson brothers combined for 46 points and 26 rebounds on 19 of 34 shooting.
“Defensively, I never felt like we had control of what they were doing,” Sampson said of the Tigers. “They shot 42 percent, but from my standpoint, it looked like they shot 82 percent.”
Damyean Dotson contributed 14 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the first half as Houston took 34-30 halftime lead. Getting to that point was no easy task for the Cougars, who opened with seven consecutive misses and did not make a field goal until Gray’s layup nearly four minutes into the game. By that point, Memphis (14-5, 4-2) led 9-1 and took advantage of UH going with a smaller lineup to control the boards. K.J. Lawson, Dedric Lawson and Markel Crawford combined for 19 rebounds in the first half (Houston had 17 as a team).
Knowles back in form
UH again played without top inside presence Devin Davis, who has missed most of the last 11 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
“Memphis’ size and athleticism really bothered us in a lot of ways,” Sampson said.
Knowles had his best game in nearly a month with 13 points and 10 rebounds — his first doubledouble of the season. He hit a point-blank shot and drew a foul to give the Cougars a 58-56 lead with four minutes left and later hit a free throws for a 62-60 lead with 59 seconds remaining in regulation. His putback on a Wes VanBeck miss with three seconds left sent the Cougars to their first OT game of the season.
With very little help inside, Sampson said the Cougars have to find contributions on the boards from elsewhere.
“We’ve got to get the manufactured points because we don’t have a low post guy that we can throw it to,” Sampson said.