Grimes’ late spurt lifts Cougars over Bulls
TAMPA, Fla. — Quentin Grimes to the rescue.
Grimes scored nine of his 22 points in the final 3:28 on Wednesday night, helping No. 20 Houston hold off South Florida 62-58 and remain alone atop the American Athletic Conference.
The sophomore guard made six straight free throws and also sank a 3pointer that gave the firstplace Cougars (20-5, 10-2) some breathing room down the stretch in the matchup between the top two defensive teams in the league.
“We’re kind of who’s going good and let them have it,’’ Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Grimes has had his moments. He’s been kind of up and down. He played pretty good against Wichita State the other day. He’s had good games, but here recently his confidence is coming along.”
Fabian White Jr. scored 10 points for Houston, which led 45-34 before USF rallied to within 53-51. Grimes put the game away with help from DeJon Jarreau, who rebounded his own miss and scored for a 58-53 lead with 21 seconds to go.
“That’s our game, every night,“Sampson said of Jarreau’s putback, one of just two baskets he made all night. “We’re not a good shooting team. We haven’t been all year. I guess we’re kind of used to it.”
The Cougars, coming off a 33-point blowout of Wichita State that gave them sole possession of first place in the league, outscored USF 17-2 on second-chance opportunities. They also went 11 for 12 from the foul line, including 10 for 10 after halftime.
Laquincy Rideau led USF (11-13, 4-7) with 21 points.
Sampson moved past Alden Pasche as the third-winningest coach in school history behind Guy Lewis (592) and Pat Foster (142). He’s 136-57 in six seasons with the Cougars, whose 80 victories over the past three seasons are the fourth most in the nation behind Gonzaga, Virginia and Duke. Pasche was 135-116 from 1946-56.